Progress in Formula 1 is often framed around lap time, upgrades and results. But for Lando Norris, the process of improvement has gone far deeper than changes to his McLaren. Speaking to BBC Sport, Norris revealed that much of his improvement stemmed from a change in mindset, particularly in 2025, that led to him winning his first F1 title.
A process beyond performance
When asked whether his progress was driven more by mental adaptation than changes made to the car — a front suspension tweak helped the Brit with his feeling in the MCL39 — Norris was candid about the complexity of the situation.
“It was a mixture of things. It was a mixture of me just not getting the most out of the car because it changed quite a bit from the previous year. Having that, the half of me going, I’m just not doing a good enough job.”
The balance between adapting to a changed car and manging self-criticism quickly became one of the defining challenges of his winning season.
Self-criticism and frustration
Norris admitted that his natural instinct was always to turn inward when things weren’t going well. Rather than immediately look for external solutions or support, the Brit tended to assume that it was his responsibility, which on occasion, was to a damaging degree.
He got some advice from Andrea Stella to ask for help so he could get what he wants from the car and team.
“And also getting a kick from, Andrea [Stella]. Andrea has seen a lot of things in his career in Formula One. He’s been with some incredible people, learnes a lot of things and always forced me a lot more to kind of push them in like, ‘guys, I need more of this. I want more of that.'”
This was not a mindset that came naturally to Norris, as he has always been vulnerable and honest in holding his hands up when his performance hasn’t delivered, which is a major contrast to the self-belief in Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Asking for help or direction from the team was rarely his first reaction.
“‘How can you help me here? How can you, which is never my first thought. It’s always the, why am I not doing a good enough job?'”
As performance failed to meet his own expectations in the first third of the campaign, frustration began to build, which had been intensified by the significance of the season itself.
“And I got, obviously I, I just got very frustrated when I wasn’t doing a good enough job. Also because I knew what was on the line. I knew it was a chance to fight for the world championship.”
When pressure turns inwards
Rather than brushing off poor performances, Lando Norris described how deeply they affected his mindset in his 2025 F1 season. Every missed opportunity carried weight, and that weight followed him from one race weekend to the next.
“So when I wasn’t doing a good enough job, I was pretty downbeat about it. You know, I’m not going to just come in and go, ‘yeah, it wasn’t that good, but I’ll try again.’ That hurts a lot inside.”
Over time, that emotional response began to influence his preparation, particularly ahead of qualifying and races.
“And at some points that just starts to have a bigger negative effect on, on me pre-races, pre-qualifying, and then it kind of gets into a spiral.
What began as frustrations with performance gradually evolved into a mental cycle that threatened to undermine his ability to extract his true potential.
Looking beyond Formula 1
Recognising that this spiral could not be solved purely within the paddock, Lando Norris sought help outside the traditional Formula 1 environment. By working with people beyond the sport, he aimed to build tools that would allow him to cope better with pressure and regain clarity behind the wheel.
“So I worked with a lot of people outside of the world of Formula One, in order to have a better approach, mentally cope with all of these things better. Allow me to drive like I can, drive like Lando can.”
This mental reset became a cornerstone of his season, not only to increase raw speed, but to remove the psychological barriers preventing him from accessing it.
Unlocking what was already there
Rather than reinventing himself as a driver, Norris explained that the mindset focus shifted towards simply enabling him to perform at his natural level more consistently during the 2025 F1 season.
“And that’s been our thing this season that we try to work on is just trying to not make me a faster driver, just allowing me to drive at the ability that I can drive at.”
In a championship defined by pressure, expectations and fine margins, Lando Norris’ journey underscores an often-overlooked truth of elite motorsport: sometimes the biggest gains come not from finding more performance, but from learning how to let it surface.
