Nico Rosberg highlights the ‘best example’ of Lando Norris being too negative at Monza

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Lando Norris has been thrusted into the middle of his first Formula 1 title battle against the odds judging by Red Bull’s early season pace.

But they have been out-developed by McLaren and caught napping, allowing the Woking-based outfit to catch up in the constructors’ and apply pressure in the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari could even be in the fight too, but the one thing Red Bull do have is plenty of recent title fighting experience, which could help them in race situations.

Max Verstappen knows what it takes to win over the course of a season, while Norris hasn’t competed for such honours in six years.

Nico Rosberg highlights ‘best example’ of when Lando Norris has been too negative

For all self-reflection is a good thing in order to keep pushing yourself to new levels, Nico Rosberg mentioned on Sky Sports F1‘s podcast that Norris has taken it too far.

He even went as far to message the McLaren driver on Instagram, but received no response, when trying to offer advice on how keeping positive can help deliver better results.

READ MORE: Damon Hill absolutely loved what McLaren star Lando Norris just said after the Italian Grand Prix

“The best example, is he’s very authentic, which of course is lovely,” he said. “But you can be authentic and be glass half full, rather than half empty.

“The best example was the qualifying lap. Lando puts it on pole and focuses his post-qualifying talk a lot on ‘yeah, I messed up the beginning of my lap and actually it was a scruffy lap’.

“He could’ve just as much said, actually, most of the lap was perfect, so awesome we’re on pole position. Both is the truth, but he decided to focus on the mistake and the bad part of it.”

What sort of task lies ahead for Norris?

Norris has a 62-point gap to close in the drivers’ championship, and eight races to do so, in what is currently the fastest car.

McLaren’s development has been impressive this season, to the extent that they have obliterated their rivals from that side of the fence.

READ MORE: Helmut Marko explains why Yuki Tsunoda was ‘extremely unhappy’ before his Monza crash

They are likely to claim the lead in the constructors’ title within the next two rounds, and Oscar Piastri is currently outgunning Red Bull’s Sergio Perez as a second driver.

These are all reasons why McLaren shouldn’t be doubted when it comes to claiming both titles, but Red Bull have been the formidable force of the last three seasons and you can never count them out of the race.

An unwanted retirement and the odd race win for Verstappen will keep the championship wide open, and the unpredictable nature of the sport in its current climate, means that fans are in for a thrilling end to the 2024 season.