Lando Norris’ overly self-critical mindset is costing him big in his battle against Max Verstappen. Though he finished P3 at the British GP on Sunday, being tough on himself robbed him of the joy of a consecutive home podium. “I hate ending in this position and having excuses for not doing a good enough job,” he said post-race. A result that should’ve satisfied him threw him into the depths of despair. Lewis Hamilton‘s former McLaren teammate Jenson Button was baffled by this happening and urged Norris to have better control over his emotions.

Compared to the nightmarish first half of 2023, McLaren has magically turned around their performance to fight for wins. However, Lando Norris‘ mindset of not being content with anything other than a victory isn’t healthy. F1 is a team sport and any unit’s bad day can affect results. The same happened in Silverstone as McLaren got their strategic calls wrong, putting Norris on the Softs instead of the Mediums at the end. Moreover, the final pit stop was slower than usual. This series of errors frustrated him and he still blamed himself for not making the right decisions.

“I think Lando needs to be a little bit careful with emotions because he’s putting himself down massively,” Jenson Button told Sky Sports post-race, continuing, “The last race, this race… he can’t spiral so easily out of control. We know how important it is to have your head in the right place. He’s so talented. I don’t want him to be too down on himself.” After his trackside interview, Norris was also seen leaning on a stand with his head down, staring into nothingness on the concrete floor.

The 2009 F1 champ also emphasized how he shouldn’t be having a meltdown this openly when it is so frequent. “Also, you don’t want to show your competitors that you’re that down. That’s a weakness you don’t want to show,” he remarked, adding, “It’s lovely that he’s open with his emotions. It’s great for us viewers, but I’m just thinking of the competitive side of things.”

The McLaren driver wasn’t self-critical in just one interview. While the questions and reporters changed from the trackside to the media pen and so on, him blaming himself continued.

Lando Norris’ impatience gets spotlighted after the ‘disappointing’ British GP

The pressure of a title fight with Max Verstappen is exposing Lando Norris’ impatience. The young Briton started P3 with both Mercedes drivers ahead of him. Though he immediately lost P3 to Verstappen in Lap 1, he recovered well to get the race lead. But because he couldn’t sustain it, he wasn’t happy. His agitation came through post-race.

“I don’t care if it takes time, I don’t want it to take time,” Norris told Sky Sports about winning races, adding, “I should be doing it now. We should be winning now. I should be making better decisions than what I’m making. I’m just disappointed, it’s a win. It’s a win in Formula 1 and I’m not going to settle for something less when we should have achieved it.”

Norris has something to learn from Verstappen in this space. The 3-time champion, despite starting in P4 with his RB20 not at its quickest around Silverstone, his patience and decision-making under pressure secured him P2. Hopefully, it isn’t too late before the 24-year-old learns to turn down his inner critic.