Lando Norris has scrapped one hobby that stopped him sleeping on F1 race weekends

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris rather suddenly became a Formula 1 title contender this year. While that bid looks destined to end in failure, it has no doubt taught him a great deal.

Norris spent the first two years of his career in the upper midfield with McLaren. By 2021, they were on the periphery of the frontrunner status.

While they made a disastrous start to 2023, they developed their car into one of the fastest on the grid. They couldn’t challenge the omnipotent Red Bull, but they were the best of the rest by the end of the year.

The early races of 2024 saw Max Verstappen continue to dominate, with McLaren and Ferrari scrapping behind. But after Norris finally secured his first Grand Prix win in Miami – he previously held the record for most podiums without a victory – McLaren toppled Red Bull as F1’s fastest team.

With better execution at the individual and collective level, he could have been within a race win of Verstappen heading into the final three rounds. Instead, he finds himself 62 points adrift and needing a sporting miracle to win the championship.

Red Bull executive director Helmut Marko has identified ‘certain weaknesses’ in Norris this year. With no significant changes to the cars over the winter, he’ll likely have another shot in 2025, where he’ll apply the lessons of recent months.

Lando Norris no longer plays video games when he’s at a Grand Prix

Norris has always been an enthusiastic gamer. He was involved in the coverage of Formula 1’s E-sports series (pictured below) before he joined the grid and his Quadrant brand is also part of that space.

During his early years in F1, Norris would bring his PlayStation to race weekends and play for ‘hours’. That, in turn, would cost him much-needed sleep.

Speaking to tech YouTuber Austin Evans, he revealed that he’d now left this hobby at home. It’s part of his efforts to be more ‘disciplined’ and focused on racing.

He said: “I used to have the PlayStation. I used to carry that around with me everywhere. I would play on flights and I would spend hours and hours.

“The thing is, I wouldn’t sleep because I love doing these things so much. I would spend too much time doing that, I wasn’t disciplined enough. I probably think I am now.

“I must save my time for at home, then when I’m home I’ll game and I’ll spend time with my friends, I’ll do those things. When I’m away, my head’s in the game of racing.”

Red Bull’s stance on Max Verstappen’s sim races during F1 weekends

Norris isn’t the only big-name F1 driver with a passion for video games. Verstappen is a keen sim racer who also appears on Twitch streams.

As recently as Wednesday night – during his time off between the Brazilian and Las Vegas Grands Prix – Verstappen was playing Call of Duty on a Team Redline stream. Earlier in the season, his habit became a talking point.

At the Emilia Romagna GP, he was awake until the early hours of the morning due to his stint in a 24-hour virtual race. Marko says Verstappen has changed his sim-race schedule to ensure he’s competing at more favourable hours.

F1 expert Peter Windsor defended Verstappen in the sim racing debate. He pointed out that, given his record in recent years, he clearly ‘knows what he’s doing’.