Lando Norris sits second on the Driver’s standings, but at what cost? Repeated disappointments have befriended him. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, is outperforming him, and even when Red Bull falters, Max Verstappen remains far ahead. And it seems, things are deteriorating faster than the Brit would’ve wanted. Meanwhile, former Haas boss, Guenther Steiner has fired a word of caution for Lando Norris.

Guenther Steiner has spent almost four decades in motorsport. From the World Rally Championship to F1, his honest insights on drivers, teams, and unprecedented situations have always been valuable. So, without wasting a word, Steiner has pointed out Lando Norris’ flaws, he believes that the 25-year-old has a lot of potential. But his silly mistakes are snatching the wins away.

On the Red Flags Podcast, Steiner verified that Norris has a problem with starting the race. He stated: “[Lando] needs to stop doing it because he’s starting to lose a lot of races because of his starts. So, I hope he gets his act together. He’s making some silly little mistakes still, and I’m surprised he keeps doing them.” Steiner further added, “It’s very difficult to say he’s bad or good. But, Lando, how many? I wouldn’t say messed up, but he didn’t take advantage of his starting position which is a bad thing. Because he lost, again, the race there. He lost it last week, he lost it this week. So at some stage, he needs to stop doing it.” 

Steiner suggests that nerves may be affecting Lando Norris at the start of races, as he feels the pressure from his team and fans. Despite this, Steiner believes Norris should avoid making mistakes regularly, a sentiment Norris himself acknowledges.

How can Lando Norris seize his current race start and the first-lap problems?

Lando Norris’ slower-than-ideal starts have been massive hurdles on his road to victory. Especially in Spain, Hungary, and China, he had entered the first corner with low momentum compared to the cars behind him. Thus when he entered the braking zone he did not have enough track space available to defend his position. Belgian GP was no different. Poor management of position kept him behind Max Verstappen till the very end. This issue has prevailed for a long time. Lando’s approach to race starts has been the Achilles’ heel.

It is truly disappointing for the McLaren star to not capitalize on the outstanding machines the team has provided him. On the other hand, Oscar Piastri is outperforming Norris. There’s a psychological barrier where repeated mistakes create a self-doubting cycle. This is leading Norris to believe he’ll keep making the same errors. So how can the problem be fixed? The only way out of the mess is by improving the starts. It isn’t easy as the drivers don’t get to practice their starts so often. But given how skilled Norris is, it should be a piece of cake by the time the second phase begins.

Right now, Lando Norris might be refueling himself. Does this mean he isn’t looking into improvement scopes? No, not at all. He will be chasing for that first spot on the driver’s standing. The only target ahead of him is to dethrone Red Bull and Max Verstappen. He must keep in mind to change the scenario as soon as possible if he wants to remain a threat on the track.

Will Lando Norris be able to improve his performance post-summer break? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.