Lando Norris must copy Michael Schumacher’s vital F1 paddock trait to become a world champion

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McLaren driver Lando Norris has his sights set on one goal this season, and that’s winning the Formula 1 world championship.

The Australian Grand Prix was the perfect start to the campaign for Lando Norris, proving that in extremely tough conditions, he’s got the fastest car at his disposal and the ability to hold off Max Verstappen when required.

His race weekend didn’t go to plan in China, where he was outperformed by teammate Oscar Piastri, but he still has an eight-point lead in the drivers’ championship.

Norris has been overly critical of himself in the past, lamenting every mistake he makes over the course of a Grand Prix.

Even before the season started when McLaren were expected to be the favourites, Norris wouldn’t commit to the idea that he could win the championship.

The 25-year-old needs to take inspiration from previous world champions such as Michael Schumacher if he’s going to get his first title over the line this year.

James Allen has explained what the seven-time world champion used to do in the paddock before he even got in the car which immediately put his rivals on the back foot.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris can learn from Michael Schumacher’s pre-F1 race routine

Allen was speaking on the Pitlane Life Lessons Podcast and discussed Lewis Hamilton’s final season at Mercedes last year and said: “I couldn’t believe some of the things he said in the second half of last season, because it’s like he’d got on a real, a real downer inside his head about it.

“That’s one thing, but then to actually let it be seen that he got it was another thing.

“I think he somehow felt that sharing that vulnerability was a very modern and positive thing to do.

“But for me, in a racing context, it was really surprising because, maintaining that level is the way that champions have always have always done things.

“And Schumacher was the great example of that, he radiated confidence.

“His skin was taut on his face [when] he walked into the paddock. He already looked like he’d won the World Championship before anyone had gone in the cars because he just looked so confident inside, actually, Schumacher was quite a vulnerable person.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris thinks one Chinese Grand Prix overtake reminded him of Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher and Lando Norris have very different approaches to Formula 1

Schumacher was extremely confident both in the paddock and on the track, although he did often push the boundaries of what was acceptable when it came to racing.

Damon Hill lost the 1994 championship to Schumacher after their collision at the final race of the season in Adelaide.

Three years later, Jacques Villeneuve escaped an attempted Schumacher crash to win his only title, with the German disqualified for his actions in Jerez.

In stark contrast, Norris has been on the receiving end of several of these committed moves from Verstappen in recent years.

The Brit has to exude that confidence in the paddock before he gets in the car in the same way as Schumacher to show the rest of the grid that he means business.

At the moment, his personable reputation makes him a fan favourite and has earned him plenty of plaudits among his colleagues.

He might need to be more confident and maybe even more nasty to emulate Schumacher and defeat the likes of Verstappen and Piastri.