McLaren driver Lando Norris is his own biggest critic – it’s in his nature, says the Briton, and it’s also integral to his success
Lando Norris is convinced that his extreme self-criticism has led to some of his best performances in the 2023 Formula 1 season. The McLaren driver was often hard on himself after making mistakes during the year
After qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, where track limit infringements cost him second place, the Briton grumbled: “I’m so shit sometimes!”
In the end, he not only lost out to his team-mate Oscar Piastri in the qualifying sessions for the sprint and race, but also in the races themselves. “I should have been fighting for two pole positions here, and possibly two wins – if I had done a better job,” Norris was annoyed afterwards.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella then said at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi that “the way he addresses his own performance deserves attention, in my opinion, because he is very hard on himself”.
But Norris himself agrees: “As much as I get annoyed with myself sometimes on Saturdays and people say things like, ‘You shouldn’t beat yourself up. A lot of my best performances come the next day.”
“It doesn’t affect me if I go out the next day and think, ‘Oh, I messed up on Saturday’,”
“Just because I say that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. A lot of people have different opinions about it, but I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been like this since karting. That’s how I was brought up and that’s how I’ve developed into the driver I am today,” explains the McLaren driver.
“Sometimes it might not be the best thing. I often get very frustrated and down, but only because I want to do a good job and work for the team. So I don’t do it on purpose, but because it’s simply how I work best. It’s the best way for me to hit back.”
“That’s why I’ve always been very honest when I think I’ve done a good or bad job,” Norris emphasizes. In fact, he achieved the best result of his career with sixth place in the 2023 drivers’ championship – with seven podiums.