Lando Norris has explained how he processes the elements of risk involved in racing his Formula 1 rivals, particularly with the Drivers’ Championship at such a precarious phase.
The Brit has managed to stay in touch with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri as the 2025 season has rolled on, having lost ground early in the campaign.
Norris got within nine points of the Australian going into last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, but an oil line failure ended his involvement in the race, as Piastri went on to win.
With the team’s controversial strategy-influenced 2-3 at Monza in Norris’ favour, the gap between them is 31 points with eight races to go.
As Norris has spent virtually the whole season chasing the title lead rather than possessing it, there is naturally a mindset of potentially taking more risks to claw back the deficit.
In the pre-race press conference prior to his Zandvoort disappointment, Norris was asked by Motorsport Week whether he views racing non-title-chasing competitors for position as calculated risks, given a potential incident could see him drop back further.
“Certainly,” he said. “But that’s something that, probably for a while, we’ve already been doing.
“As much as we want to win races and get into second or third at times – and maybe at some points we could’ve taken more risks – I think both, for a little while now, we’ve understood the risk element a bit more for a while now.
“I think we know when we need to take a risk – in qualifying and things like that – and we also know that during a race, maybe for one more point, you might not risk anything.
“But for the win? Then you would risk more. It also depends who you’re racing. That’s a really important factor. That’s part of being a racing driver: you’ve got to understand who you can take risks with, who you can’t, and when to take those risks.
“I think that’s a general thing, but it’s also something I think you have to understand a little bit more when you are fighting for a championship.”
Norris believes he is making better decisions F1 2025
Norris referred to a moment as early as the second weekend of the championship as one where he took a gamble which backfired, potentially costing him important points.
In qualifying for the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix, Norris locked up during a push lap, costing him time and seeing him qualify in sixth place.
There was also, of course, the notorious moment in the Canadian Grand Prix, when an ambitious attempt on Piastri failed, causing them to touch and send Norris out of the race.
Moments like this, Norris explained, are key to how a championship could pan out, saying if he could “go back and change what I did in China and not take that risk, I would probably do it.
“So, I probably wasn’t quite on top of everything and as thoughtful as I needed to be so early on, Round 2 of a championship season.
“But like I said, I’ve learned from that and I make better decisions now.”
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