As Chink in Armor Begins to Widen, Lando Norris Finds Support in Lewis Hamilton’s Arch Nemesis

The Qatar Grand Prix was momentous for McLaren. Coming so close to the perfection laid out by Red Bull, the outfit had a tremendous pace at the Lusail International Circuit. So much so that the McLaren boys raced to podiums in the sprint and the Sunday Grand Prix. An end has been put to the British Outfit’s point-less season. Lando Norris is charging to the front of the grid with five podiums. Yet, an end to the British driver’s self-deprecation is yet to be found.

Norris has been hailed as a future teammate for Max Verstappen. However, he insists he isn’t going anywhere before he earns his first victory at McLaren. However, the British driver now feels even more threatened as his rookie teammate stomped to a maiden victory for the team in Qatar. “First win before mine,” said Norris, disappointed with his mistakes. Rebuking the British driver for his constant self-criticism, a former Mercedes driver extended his support to Norris.

Rosberg chides Lando Norris to be less critical

Although Norris put in good lap times at Lusail, he received a penalty for exceeding the track limits, setting him for P10. However, he powered through the mid-field and finished with a third consecutive podium on Sunday. But Norris wears his heart on a sleeve. The ‘mega’ job wasn’t ‘mega’ enough for him. He said in the post-race interview, “I know a big thing to say, but I think if things went well if I just did a better job and didn’t make the mistakes I did over the last two days, which is why I’ve been so frustrated because I knew what was on the cards, what we were able to potentially achieve.”

Norris has a reputation for negative self-talk. Former Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg, asked Norris to tame his monkey mind. He said in an interview with Sky Sports, “I wanted to write to Lando and wanted to say: ‘One thing is thinking you’re not good enough but the other thing you can influence and avoid is what you’re saying as the more you say it, the more you believe it.” 

Rosberg reiterated Norris has been doing well. One bad weekend isn’t enough for the harsh words. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team boss, has asked the young driver to keep a check on his self-criticism, saying “You have to find the right balance here, on the one hand with the media and on the other with yourself. Lando did a lot of self-criticism, especially on Friday night, and we will look at that again.” 

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Taming the mind is a vigorous task, believes Rosberg. He rebuked the British driver, alluding to his struggles in Formula 1.

Nico Rosberg cites his mental battles

Formula 1’s one of the bloodiest and dirtiest rivalries came from the title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The latter soon retired after winning the 2016 Drivers’ championship against his teammate. In the subsequent years, the German driver has come forward, opening up about his inner battles during the on-track battles.

Often, the frequent moves across the globe isolate Formula 1 drivers from their families. However, not just travel but the desire to win against Hamilton took a heavy toll on Rosberg and his loved ones. He said, “I just dedicated my whole every single breathing second of my life to winning that next race and becoming world champion. Lewis drove me to go searching for ways to be better than I ever thought I could be because he’s the best of all time, or going towards the best of all time.” 

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Nico Rosberg is well-acquainted with the plight of Lando Norris. In these testing times for the British driver, Rosberg and the McLaren team have echoed the same thought to him – you are doing enough.