Lando Norris revealed what it was like fighting the top drivers on the grid, saying that it was a whole other ballgame.
Norris had his best-ever season in F1, finishing P5 in the Drivers’ Championship. He took four podium finishes in 2021, with his best result being a P2 at the Italian GP.
Naturally, being at the front means he had his share of tangles with the top drivers. The highlight came at the Russian GP, where he led Lewis Hamilton for a long time before a costly mistake from his end led to the Mercedes driver overtaking him.
Norris revealed what it was like fighting the top drivers on the grid, and said that he has relished locking horns with the best in the business.
“They’re not just in better cars, but generally the guys who are in better cars are also going to be the more experienced or better drivers,” he told RacingNews365.com.
“So there’s a little bit more pressure, because you know that they’ll think of every plan or strategy possible for how to get past you and so on.
“That’s the only thing, is that you know that they will be thinking of every single thing possible in order to attack you and to race against you and overtake you.”
Confidence boost
“The only thing it really gives you is confidence that, if you’re there more often or you have a better car, then there’s no reason why they should be able to beat you if you’re in the same car,” the McLaren driver continued.
“Every time I raced against Lewis or (Valtteri) Bottas, or Max (Verstappen) or (Sergio) Perez, I think the only thing it really gives you is more confidence.
“That you know that, when you are more often in this position, whether it’s next year or in two years, then you feel ready to race against them all the time and ready to beat them.”
Read more: Norris excited to race in 2022 McLaren – “Everyone has to adapt”