“Shadow of His 1st Win Is Costing Him”: Lando Norris’ Hasty Pursuit Blamed for Lost Confidence Against Oscar Piastri

The Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying was almost a dream come true for McLaren. The Woking-based team had a very good run in Q3, with both drivers looking solid for securing a P2-P3 start for the team. With Max Verstappen and the RB-19 being the duo that they are, P1 was definitely a little out of reach, being more than three-tenths away. Going into the final stretch of Q3, people had their money on the Briton, Lando Norris to secure P2.

However, a costly mistake in the final sector proved to be an extremely costly mistake. With the track evolution mattering a lot at the Yas Marina circuit, Oscar Piastri, who was on a flying lap, managed to pip Norris in Q3. Norris had to contend with starting P5, on a race where he was fighting hard for P4 in the drivers’ championships. Experts have since weighed in, and are strongly opining that he would have done better if he already had his first win out of the way.

Why is Lando Norris often slipping up under pressure?

Lando Norris has had an amazing year overall. While the start of the year could have been better for the Woking team, their subsequent upgrades definitely worked. Having finished P4 in the constructors’, after starting the season in rock bottom 10th, they can walk out with their heads held high. However, the mistake from Norris in the last few seconds of his Abu Dhabi Qualifying was borderline uncharacteristic. Norris, often a self-critical driver (cue his infamous ‘Talent’ radio message), does not often push the car beyond its limits, causing him to lose control completely.

However, it was not a one-off either. In the penultimate race, he made a similar mistake in Las Vegas, which meant that he had to contend with a DNF on the American circuit. Talking about this, the F1 Nation Podcast thought that it was the ‘Shadow of his first win’ which is costing him.

“You only make mistakes when you’re pushing yourself over the limit,” says Damon Hill. “Lando does not want to be outqualified.”

Pedro de la Rosa on the other hand opines that Lando is pushing too hard for his first win. “I think what is costing him is the shadow of his first win. He is over-pushing just because he thinks he deserves his first win on F1.”

Because he wants it too much, de la Rosa explains that he’s missing the timing, and pushing it way too hard. He advises Lando to be a little patient, as he has the quality to become a race-winning driver, and that the win will come soon.

Also read: Drawing Hollywood Parallels, Lando Norris Gives Emotional Tribute to “Great” Andrea Stella

However, it does beg the question, when does Lando Norris get his first win?

When will Lando Norris’ first win come?

Lando Norris has had amazing races consistently over the last three seasons. He has consistently beaten his teammates, however, the top step still eludes him. His then-teammate Daniel Ricciardo won in Monza, and Oscar Piastri won the Sprint Race on the Qatar weekend this year. Back in 2021, the 24-year-old came agonizingly close to his maiden win in Sochi, only to be left dissatisfied in the changeable conditions, dropping from the lead.

Ever since then, it’s not that he’s not pushing extremely hard, he is. But the fact that a partnership between an Austrian team and a Dutch driver created a dominance in the sport like never seen before meant that the Briton was denied of the top step four times this very season.

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The McLaren looks really good, at least at the end of the ’23 season. If they manage to nail the new car, who knows? Perhaps Bahrain ’24 would be where Lando gets his first win!