Lando Norris has cited ignoring “everyone that talks c***” about him as the inspiration for reversing his Formula 1 title fortunes after a dominant victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Brit survived some early pressure to take his seventh win of the season to open up a 24-point lead in the championship over McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Norris has managed a remarkable run of form in contrast to Piastri’s struggles, and the mechanical failure in Zandvoort, which helped give Piastri a 34-point lead, seems a long time ago.
Earlier in the season, Norris had spoken openly about his psychological struggles, as well as those with the MCL39, which contributed to some his problems compared to Piastri.
But speaking after the race, Norris explained and identified a key reason in how he has been able to show strength at a vital part of the season.
“Just ignore everyone that talks c*** about you!” he said. “Just focus on yourself. The team are doing an amazing job, giving me a great car.
“We are pushing hard every single weekend and I’m pushing hard away from the track.
“Rewarding. It doesn’t come easy. To be honest, I don’t think we were the quickest today but I’m glad to take home the win.”
‘Caring too much’ before potentially caused Norris to focus less on F1 title race
The comments immediately drew interest, and in the post-race press conference, Norris was asked to expand on what exactly he meant by them.
“Yeah, I mean, honestly, nothing in particular,” he said to media including Motorsport Week.
“But yeah, there’s always people out there that try and bring you down a little bit, I guess. It’s quite normal, I think. But yeah, also, when you’re on a big stage, there’s a lot of people that talk and try and say things, try and influence other people to have effects.
“And I guess even for the cheers and the not cheers, yeah, you still hear it. It’s not the nicest thing. But yeah, I think it’s something I’ve done well over the last few months.
“I care a lot about, let’s say, people’s perspective and how I’m portrayed and things in the media. And I probably cared too much.
“Even at the beginning of the year, I think I cared too much and probably was affecting me in not the best ways. And I just learned to deal with those things better.”
Norris explained that it was more down to his own self-preservation and not intending to show a lack of manners to anyone.
“Not by not caring, because I still think, I still always want to have a good impression and I never want to be rude or do those things,” he reasoned.
“I’ll always try and make my point and say what I believe in, because I think that’s one of the things I’ve learned the most, is just to be true to yourself and have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself and speak your mind.
“So yeah, it’s more just keeping my head down and concentrating on myself.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris takes controlled F1 Brazil GP win, Max Verstappen goes from pit lane to podium
Discussion about this post