Lando Norris has denied that the pressure associated with being regarded as the favourite to win the Formula 1 title will have an adverse impact on him in the 2025 season.
Norris produced his most productive season in 2024 as 13 podiums, including four victories, saw him place second as McLaren were crowned the Constructors’ Champions.
However, the Briton was made to ponder what could have been as various mistakes resigned him to coming up short in his quest to hunt down Max Verstappen’s points lead.
But while he missed out on the ultimate prize, Norris vowed that his high points in the campaign had proven to him that he has what it takes to become a World Champion.
Norris has acknowledged that his status as a multiple-time F1 race-winner, coupled with McLaren’s success, has heightened the expectation on him going into the season.
And while that has been reflected in several bookmakers pinning him as the front-runner to secure the crown in 2025, Norris has expressed that it is a position he relishes.
Asked whether he would encourage people to hedge their bets on him, Norris quipped to media including Motorsport Week at McLaren’s 2025 shakedown event: “No, I mean, I hope they make a lot of money on me! Yeah, I feel bad if I let them down, if they put money on me.
“I don’t think, honestly, that’s definitely not something that will ever sway me in terms of my pressure, that people are doing that kind of thing.
“I know because of last year, that’s just how things have gone. Because I did well last year, those are the expectations for the team and for myself.
“But every year is a new year, and every driver is going to come back more determined. That’s including myself. Everyone wants to prove their points and improve on their weaknesses.”
Norris pleased with margin over Piastri
Norris overcame an internal threat in Oscar Piastri to emerge as McLaren’s leading championship hopeful last season, scoring 82 more points than his team-mate.
With Piastri having garnered a glittering reputation, Norris, who also out-qualified the Australian 20 times in 24 races, was pleased with the emphatic margin he held.
“As much as you can look at last year, you know, I’ve got a strong team-mate who’s been very aggressive and fast and aggressive in terms of he’s got up to speed very, very quickly, and he’s done a very good job in the first few years,” he assessed.
“He’s probably only going to improve from what he’s done so far.
“So for me to have the performance that I had against him last year and still also be improving myself just as much, I think was a good thing for myself.”
Norris at his best with the pressure on
Norris attracted some sceptics when he divulged prior to last season’s Italian Grand Prix that extreme nerves in the lead-up to races mean he opts against digesting food.
However, he has dismissed that it should be seen as a weakness, contending that being exposed to tension allows him to operate at his best in high-pressure moments.
“I’m definitely not feeling the pressure of all of these things,” he elaborated. “I know there’s the expectation, and we have more partners and sponsors and all of these things, and fans.
“Every single one of these things adds to the pressure and the nerves of it all, but I think I said in an interview the other week or something, that even when I brought it up in the past, that the pressure and the nerves and don’t eat on Sundays, those kind of things, people always somehow turn it into a bad thing, but it’s not a bad thing at all.
“For me, I always perform better in these situations. Those moments I thrive on are the ones where there is more pressure, there is more nerves, and I enjoy that.
“As much as there’s nerves and you feel a bit like, ‘am I thinking of this, am I thinking of that, am I doing the right thing?’
“Those are the moments I enjoy the most and the moments that actually turn me into a better driver.
“Too many people get hung up on the, ‘oh that’s not good, I bet he’s not nervous’. I don’t care about any of that, honestly. I found the correct way of doing it myself, and that’s what I stick to.
“So I like seeing those things, I like hearing them. I like that I have that kind of bit of pressure on my back. But at the same time I just hope I can go out and make them some money.”
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