McLaren Formula 1 racer Lando Norris says continuing his end-of-2020 form into 2021 is his primary target after conceded he went through a “rough patch” in the middle of the campaign.
Norris is entering his third Formula 1 season, remaining with the McLaren team that has supported him since his title-winning Formula 3 campaign, after placing ninth in the standings last year.
Norris claimed his maiden podium in the delayed Austrian opener, and capped the year with a strong drive to fifth in Abu Dhabi, but also endured a difficult run mid-season, which included a run of three events without a point.
“The main [target] is to start [2021] how I ended the year, because I felt like I was on a much better foot,” said Norris.
“[I felt] a lot more confident, I was performing well in terms of my driving and how I was working with my engineers, not relying on the other side, and just making our own way and working for ourselves – that worked very well at the end of last year.
“So starting on the right foot, starting how we ended last year is the main target and just coming out of the box strong in 2021.”
When discussing the progress in the latter events, which included fourth in Bahrain, Norris explained: “There was a rough patch in the middle where from a qualifying perspective I struggled a little bit more and that was just with my confidence in the car and not setting up the car quite as much as I wanted.
“With the developments over the season you had to drive the car in a slightly different way and it just made it a bit harder and wasn’t as optimised for how I drive the car.
“Towards the end of the season we biased it more back towards what I want in terms of having some more confidence in the car again, and I felt like I was able to perform better.
“There are things I’m still understanding, we – as a team and my engineers – are understanding.”
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