Lando Norris says he had to learn to accept factors out of his control through his rookie Formula 1 season, after a spate of setbacks and reliability issues left him “annoyed.”
Norris suffered result-limiting mechanical failures in Canada, France, Germany and Belgium, while a pit stop issue compromised his prospects in Mexico.
Norris was on course for a haul of points in Canada and France, while in Belgium Norris was set for fifth until his MCL34 lost power, which occurred as he completed his penultimate lap.
“The first few I kind of didn’t get so annoyed about, and then I had Paul Ricard, Canada and Spa,” said Norris.
“Then I got a bit more annoyed because it was happening a bit more regularly.
“I had a couple more and it kind of got to the point where I was realising more it was nothing I could change or effect, or even the people around me.
“It wasn’t our fault. It’s things that happen and mistakes that are made.
“Those few I was quite easily able to forgive but the next lot were then frustrating because with Spa it was [going to be] my best result and then going into Mexico with the pit stop, it was like this happens and I need to move on because there’s nothing I can do.
“When I look back it has affected a lot of things and points in the championship but a lot of it, not all of it, but a lot of it has been things out of my control and things I cannot change.
“That’s just something I need to forget and go into next year, something I don’t need to be thinking about.”
Norris added that the amount of preparation he was able to undertake over the winter also ensured he wasn’t caught out by anything unexpected.
“A lot of people ask this question about what’s shocked you the most but there’s been nothing,” said Norris.
“I think that’s a good thing that nothing has caught me by surprise. The amount of preparation I did last year during the winter, in the factory I did so many things preparing for the rules, with strategy, with everything, so there was nothing that shocked me.
“There have been a lot of things that have been very difficult but nothing which has caught me by surprise or made me make a big mistake or anything like that.”
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