Lando Norris: "I feel ready to lead McLaren"

• F1

Fresh after signing a new multi-year contract, Lando Norris believes he has the confidence and ability to now lead McLaren through a new era of Formula 1. The young Briton has had great performance since joining McLaren in 2019, but in the 2021 season he felt an additional step forward as he faced the challenge of the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo, winning 45 points more than multiple race winners over his career.

McLaren, understandably, then wanted to tie its extremely talented driver to a new contract, succeeding in that mission while Norris signed a contract that runs until 2025. As from a driving perspective, Norris' self-confidence also rose sharply as he suffered from self-doubt during the early stages of his Formula One career.

Therefore, Lando now feels that McLaren can rely on him as he prepares to enter a new era of premier class. "I hope to continue as I did last year. I feel confident, confident in my ride, and I feel I can lead the team, ”said Norris.

"I feel I can be where I can rely on the team if I need help, and I can help the team if (they need it)," he added. Norris was on the podium four times during 2021, and second place at the Italian Grand Prix was his best result of the season.

Also, Lando won the pole position at the Russian Grand Prix and was the leader in the same race until the final stage until he was caught in heavy rain. Norris decided not to switch to intermediates, a choice that ultimately cost him the win.

Lando Norris on the next seasons

The McLaren driver also pointed out other mistakes earlier when looking back on his season last year, especially the first-round incident with former team-mate Carlos Sainz in Brazil. However, Norris is looking for consistency for this season.

"The basic thing is to increase consistency. A very good step forward was made from two years ago to last season and there are no more small mistakes that were very expensive, "explains Lando. "Simply, a few things led me to not winning points when I should have, and I think it was only twice or something." "But on a few (occasions) when I might have been eighth, and I had to finish fifth or sixth and take that bigger step to win more points." "So consistency: just make sure I'm in Q3 when I have every chance to be in Q3 and just be there when it's important," Lando Norris concluded.