Lando Norris has stressed he harbours no “regrets” over his mistakes in Formula 1 in 2025, but he has recognised there were instances he could have been “smarter”.
Norris enters the remaining 10 races – beginning with this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix – needing to overturn a nine-point gap to Oscar Piastri to clinch the Drivers’ title.
Having slipped as much as 22 points behind at one stage, Norris claimed three victories in four races in the run-up to the summer break to reduce Piastri’s advantage.
Norris started the season on top in Australia, but his lead was eroded as errors in the succeeding races enabled his team-mate to capitalise on McLaren’s dominance.
The Briton’s biggest points loss occurred in Canada, where he qualified out of position and then collided with Piastri in the closing stages as he attempted to get past.
But while he acknowledged that he could have acted more calculated at times, Norris has insisted that he won’t dwell on the setbacks that have blunted his challenge.
Asked whether he has looked back and held regrets, Norris told media including Motorsport Week: “Could I at times have made better decisions? I think so.
“If I had that thought a little bit more in my head at the time… probably the main one was China Sprint Qualifying. I think my lap was good enough for pole until the final hairpin where I locked up. If I had that thought just before braking – ‘It’s a long season, don’t try and be a hero’ – I wouldn’t have finished it like that. I lost eight points there.
“Canada – if I could rerun that and just be a little bit smarter and not take so much risk, could I have not lost quite a few points there? Yes. I don’t know.
“But I’m also the guy that – I wouldn’t say I regret those moments. Do I wish it changed? Do I wish it was better? Do I wish I could do it again? Yeah.
“But at the same time, I don’t regret making those decisions at the time, because that’s me, that’s life, and that’s the way it goes.
“Sometimes it goes your way and you get lucky, sometimes it doesn’t and you don’t make the best decisions.
“But those are also the times you learn the most and help yourself more for the future. So, no – I live my life not by regretting what I’ve, more trying to learn and improving from it.”
Norris taking championship battle ‘race by race’
Norris has vowed that he is taking each race as it comes in his intra-team fight with Piastri, while also not discounting the threat that McLaren’s rivals might still pose.
“Of course it’s about the championship, but we do that race by race,” he explained.
“Everyone has their own way of saying that and doing it. But everyone takes it race by race, really.
“We want to win, of course. I always want to get maximum points and make my life easy, but it’s never that simple.
“We still have good competition, even in Budapest. The Ferraris were extremely quick, and George was not too far away. We still expect good battles and good competition.
“But as everyone knows, we expect a good battle between us as team-mates – between Oscar and myself – and that’s the one I’m most looking forward to.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri refuses to ‘feel hard done by’ despite recent swings in F1 title race
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