Lando Norris has admitted he still experiences extreme nerves prior to Formula 1 sessions, but he has denied feeling extra pressure since McLaren’s return to the top.
McLaren’s remarkable turnaround since last term has culminated with the team now possessing the benchmark car and being touted as the favourites to win the title.
Norris capitalised on McLaren’s continued competitiveness at Zandvoort last weekend to translate pole position into a dominant 22-second win over Max Verstappen.
But while he enters this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix tipped to be in contention again, Norris has expressed that the increased expectations are not a hindrance to him.
Asked whether McLaren’s newfound position has changed his approach to racing, Norris told media including Motorsport Week: “Probably not as much as you think.
“I think because I struggled a lot with this [pressure] when I started in Formula 1, my first, second year into my third.
“Because I struggled with it so much back then, I feel like I learned pretty well how to handle it.
“That’s also helped me in the position I am now, when I’m maybe not directly in the fight for the championship, where I’m neck and neck with Max.
“Just dealing with more questions and the pressure of everyone thinking that I have to deliver every single weekend. I also know myself that I have to deliver every single weekend.
“But I think because I struggled a bit with it or quite a bit with it in the past, it’s helped me to deal with it in a much better way now. Therefore, it doesn’t have much of an effect.
“There still is, and I know there’s a lot of pressure. In the team, I probably went through a little bit more pressure. Externally, there will be more pressure on me.
“But it’s also up to me to deal with it in the way that I feel best. At the same time, therefore, I don’t really feel it that much. I’m comfortable and I just have to go out and drive.
“That’s all I can do really. Not think about these external things. Now, in the place I am now, fighting for wins and fighting for the championship, I feel like it’s another weekend.”
However, Norris has conceded that he endures overriding nerves in the build-up to race weekends, which he has since learned to channel better across recent times.
Pressed on whether he relishes the heightened pressure, Norris added: “I don’t think of it at all. I think there’s always pressure, which is the main thing.
“I still get so nervous for qualifying. For the races, I still get just as excited and just as nervous. I don’t eat anything on Sundays.
“I struggle to drink on Sundays. Just because I’m nervous, just because of the pressure.
“I think it’s just how you turn it into a positive thing. How do you not let it affect you in a bad way?
“How can you actually use it in a good way to help you focus on the correct things and so on? I’m sure I do now. Probably will forever.
“You know, going into Q3, or qualifying when you have to go out and deliver.
“I know you spoke about it every time, because there’s so much nerves and there’s pressure.
“And if you do one thing, you’re going to break centimetres, or a minute too late, or you turn in at the wrong timing, or whatever it is, you’re finished immediately.
“The knowledge of that just puts you under very intense feeling.
“But also, it’s an amazing feeling at the same time that I don’t feel like maybe you can replicate it, in any of the sports, in any of the things.”
