Lando Norris has insisted that his comeback to lead the Formula 1 championship again in 2025 should be credited to hard work rather than a change in his mentality.
Norris has managed to overturn what was a 34-point gap to Oscar Piastri five rounds ago into a one-point advantage over his McLaren team-mate and main title rival.
The Briton capped his sensational turnaround with a return to the top step last time out in Mexico, where a dominant drive saw him post a 30-second winning margin.
Norris hasn’t been beaten in the intra-team contest at McLaren since he retired at Zandvoort in August, a setback that he claimed would alleviate the pressure on him.
But while that looks to have served him well in his bid to bag the title, Norris has declared that the time spent behind the scenes with his team has been more integral.
Asked whether his uptick in results was down to being more relaxed since that blow at the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris told media including Motorsport Week: “Not really.
“I think when you say those kind of things, maybe there’s a couple of little decisions here and there.
“Probably since then, three or four decisions along the way, and probably more when you’re taking risks.
“So in terms of racing situations and things, maybe qualifying, you think, well, may as well just go for it.
“But it’s not like every approach, every lap I do is, I’ve got nothing to lose here, let’s try a bit more. That’s certainly not true. So I definitely wouldn’t put it down to that.
“I would put it more down to just having worked hard and having a very good team around me. Yeah, 99 per cent of it down to that. 1 per cent, a mix of various things.
“But most results coming from work done rather than mentality or things. But mentality’s improved, the approach has improved, preparation has improved.
“All of that has improved because of doing more work and working harder and spending more time trying to understand things rather than, I’ve got nothing to lose now, I’ll just go for it.
“So yeah, there’s maybe been two, three, four decisions along the way since then where I’m like, just risk a bit more. But yeah, I think much less anything and more of it down to just work.”
Norris retaining unchanged approach over closing rounds
Despite sitting atop the standings for the first time in over six months, Norris is adamant that his approach to this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be unchanged.
“I think when you get reminded about it, for me it’s not something I think of at all, but when I get reminded about it, because of my friends or people you bump into, talk about it and then bring it up, it’s still a cool thought, just thinking about that,” he expressed.
“Fighting for a World Championship in Formula 1, just being in a position to do that and for me to be in that position, it’s still part of my dream to be a Formula 1 driver and to try and win races, things like that.
“It still feels incredible, but I don’t think in terms of races and achieving the actual dream of being a champion, at the minute it doesn’t feel any different.
“I think nothing is completed, nothing is done. There are still around 120 points or something available, so it doesn’t mean anything for the time being.
“It’s a nice thought to look on and think about, but otherwise it’s nice to be there, but I still need to go and try and win this weekend, that’s still my goal.”
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