Much like Mexico a fortnight back, it was impossible to ignore the smattering of jeers in the old-school grandstands. Just three months ago, a plethora of haters would have had a damaging impact on Lando Norris and his performance. We all love to be loved, right? Norris certainly did.
Now though, a backbone of steel has emerged: Norris 2.0 does not give a hoot.
“I just ignore everyone who talks crap about you!” the McLaren driver said with a smirk, immediately after his grand prix victory in Brazil and at the precise moment a few boos were audible on the broadcast. “Just focus on yourself.”
Starting the weekend with just a one-point advantage, it was a decisive few days in the world championship at the forever-unpredictable Interlagos. While the charges of title rivals Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen stalled, Norris kept his head above the parapet to register a perfect weekend: two pole positions, two race wins and a maximum 33 points to his name.
What’s changed? Norris, who turns 26 on Thursday, has made no secret of his tendency to self-doubt in the past. In fact, that has extended to self-deprecation and, in the heat of a closely fought title battle, it is an attribute he has worked hard at finetuning.
“I care a lot about people’s perspectives and how I’m portrayed and things in the media,” he admitted in Sunday’s post-race press conference. “I probably cared too much. Even at the beginning of the year, I think I cared too much and it probably was affecting me in not the best ways.
“I’ve just learned to deal with those things better. Not by not caring, because I still always want to have a good impression, I never want to be rude or do those things.
“But I’ll always try and make my point and say what I believe in. That’s one of the things I’ve learned the most: just to be true to yourself, have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself, and speak your mind.”
His mental fortitude has not been the only factor behind a remarkable recent turnaround, in which he has executed a 58-point swing in just six races, dating back to his cruel retirement in Zandvoort in August. It was noted then that Norris had to change a habit of a lifetime – and he’s done just that.
Labelled by some as a “party boy”, Norris revealed back in April that he wouldn’t be attending the 2025 King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam, a year on from infamously cutting his nose prior to his maiden F1 win in Miami. He went on to say he had given up alcohol.
“I had a good week [last year] in Amsterdam with Martin [Garrix], but I’m fighting for a world championship now,” the Bristolian explained.
TOP-3 – F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 390 points
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 366 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 341 points
“I can’t afford to do something like this now. I have to go back home and train. This race [Saudi Arabia] was physically demanding and I’d love to have a drink now. But I haven’t had a single drink all year and I’m proud of that.”
A month later, he also revealed that he had stepped away from social media, though signs suggest he is back on Instagram in recent months, to the delight of his 10.8 million followers. Nevertheless, after obvious signs of fragility in his inaugural title showdown with Max Verstappen last year, his off-track priorities have clearly changed.
As ever in F1, mechanical tweaks have paid dividends too. Norris has benefited from a new front suspension, implemented in Canada back in June, which has given the Briton more feel with the car’s front axle, pivotal for confidence when driving on the limit.
Contrastingly, Piastri has ditched that suspension change on his McLaren car, opting for the previous front-of-the-car geometry, as he grapples with his own sensitivities at the wheel of the MCL39.
Norris also revealed at the last race in Mexico that he has removed his delta time on his dashboard during qualifying, in order to be fully focused on his lap and not distracted by previous attempts.
Most drivers refer to a delta time on their dashboard during qualifying sessions, in which they can compare in real time how their lap compares to previous efforts. By ditching this feature on his wheel dash, Norris is an outlier on the grid. But recent results speak for themselves: three pole positions on the spin.
“I think the thing when I don’t have it [delta time] is I push no matter what – no matter how the start of the lap was, no matter how any corner was,” he said.
“I guess it’s because you have no reference of the overall lap time, you just always try and maximise every corner to the maximum. Otherwise, sometimes I just stare at it too much and that’s never the best thing.”
While all these factors may seem somewhat micro, combined, they have given Norris a pivotal edge in what is a marginal gains sport. So much so that he now has one hand on the drivers’ championship trophy, with a 24-point and 49-point lead over Piastri and Verstappen, respectively.
Unlike Verstappen last year, Norris cannot seal the championship at the next race in Las Vegas. The earliest he can claim the title is the sprint race at the penultimate round in Qatar. Yet with Piastri collapsing at an unfathomable rate of knots and Verstappen now ruling himself out of the fight, despite his tremendous drive to third from the pit-lane on Sunday, Norris has all the momentum in his back pocket.
It is his to lose. Needless to say, a maiden title would be the biggest of middle fingers to all the naysayers.
