Norris: I’m always very hard on myself.

In an interview with the British edition of GQ magazine, Lando Norris spoke about his work at McLaren, about his teammates, and at the same time he was very self-critical about his immediate prospects in the championship. But Zach Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, declares his driver more than commendable, without doubting his potential.

Lando Norris: “I got on well with Carlos Sainz. I can say that I have grown professionally thanks to him. We also found a common language with Daniel Riccardo. We were perfect opponents: we all worried about getting ahead of our teammate, but we also hated losing to each other.

Off the track we had tremendous mutual respect. I try to share this: on the track I can be a bitter rival, but I also show respect and kindness to people.

Now Oscar Piastri has joined the team, and this is a new situation, but I don’t think I will have to change my usual approach. Although my role will increase on track days, I will have to communicate more with the team.

In general, though, I like to listen. Because I love racing so much, I’m learning more and more about it, and that’s a good thing. I am a perfectionist and do everything I can to improve my professional skills. At the same time, I think I can lose. But I always evaluate myself very strictly, I criticize my work very hard. I always wonder if something could have been better. And can the team do anything?

Given everything I’ve learned so far, I’m probably capable of winning races, but right now I’m barely capable of fighting for a championship. I know that you have to reach the highest possible level for this. I hate to lose, but failure only provokes me, I try to analyze everything so that next time I can do my job better.

Zach Brown: “I think we’ve managed to bring out the best sides of Lando – now he’s become more talkative and sociable. The atmosphere at McLaren is like a family and he can relax. I believe that features of his character such as equanimity and calmness explain why he manages to show such stable results. I remember the first time he had the chance to work in a team with Fernando Alonso, Lando acted like it was a completely normal day for him.

Is there anything in it that I don’t like? He was more than five minutes late on more than one occasion. If we’re going to leave at 8:00, he could show up at 8:07. But his merit is that he is very honest and always admits his shortcomings. And of course he works on himself.

In his youth he won in almost every category he raced in, and he did so on the first attempt. All this confirms his exceptional talent, which is why we invited him to McLaren in 2017. He knows how to get the most out of a racing car and knows how to drive it to the limit. Lando also knows how to describe the behavior of the car very accurately, because he feels it perfectly. The technical information it provides is extremely helpful.

He’s also a lot of fun to be around, and when we play golf we play pranks on each other all the time. He plays well, and it is felt that his talent is reflected in this too, although he is only in his second season. Lando is progressing fast, his eye and accuracy getting better and better. It doesn’t take long for him to become a real golfer.

And in Formula 1 I think he can act for another ten, fifteen years. If we can give him a good car, he will be world champion. Everything he needs for his job, Lando takes very seriously. But at the same time, he understands that car racing is also a kind of fun activity.