Lando Norris shares the ‘main thing’ that’s changed with his driving style since maiden F1 win

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Since taking his first victory at the Miami Grand Prix, Lando Norris has emerged as one of the main challengers to Max Verstappen.

The McLaren driver held the unwanted record for most podiums without a win prior to his victory, leading some to question whether he could break the streak.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believed his inconsistency was holding him back from achieving more in F1, with Norris admitting that his chances of beating Verstappen were ‘basically zero’ due to his poor tyre management.

Even though McLaren has played a role in closing the gap to Red Bull in the last few races, part of them being in the hunt for wins has come from the development of Norris as a driver.

He attributes much of this to a change in mindset when speaking on the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast.

Lando Norris details ‘main thing’ that has improved his driving

Norris got his first taste of F1 machinery in a test with McLaren during a post-race tyre test in Hungary, when he impressed by finishing second fastest behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

The Briton believes part of his improvement behind the wheel came from a subconscious feeling, which enabled him to be more confident with setup changes.

“You just drive with a bit more confidence and just like a subconscious feeling that you’ve just been there before. I think that’s the main thing. You feel like I’ve done it before,” said Norris.

“And it’s like when you jump in an F1 car for the first time, the first day you do it you’re like ‘Holy moly, this is insane!’ But then even in your second run, you get back in, already everything just feels slowed down and ‘Okay, it’s a bit more normal already.’

“Now, when we jump in a car, maybe some drivers will say it and some drivers won’t, because we do it so much, it doesn’t feel as quick as what it did on day one. Then it felt like the car went 1,000mph, now I feel like I’m going 200mph.”

Lando Norris has grown into an F1 winner

It’s easy to forget that Norris made his F1 debut at just 24-years-old in the 2018 season, making him the fifth youngest driver in the history of the championship at the time.

After a difficult first season, he’s matured quickly as a driver but had a few near misses when it comes to wins. Nobody can blame him for the 2021 Russian Grand Prix when a sudden downpour ruined his chances with a handful of laps to race, but last year’s British Grand Prix was a great opportunity.

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

Since winning in Miami the tone has shifted dramatically with Norris compared to where he was at the start of the season. Where he was happy with a second place at the Chinese GP and branded it a ‘win’ for himself, the last two races he’s been left rueing mistakes which have prevented him from winning.

McLaren’s car development rate means they are likely to have more opportunities to challenge Red Bull and Verstappen, but Norris will need to execute the perfect race to add more to his race win tally.