Lando Norris heads into this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix trailing his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the Drivers’ standings by just eight points following his back-to-back wins in Austria and at Silverstone.
And yet the Briton feels that he’s still not performing at the consistently high level he reached at times in 2024.
Despite feeling more confident and possessing a deeper understanding of his craft, Norris acknowledges that small, elusive improvements are still needed to reach his full potential.
Momentum on Track, But Not Yet at Peak
While Piastri has often appeared more comfortable with McLaren’s MCL39, Norris’s recent momentum has shifted the narrative in his favor.
However, when asked if he would have preferred to maintain his momentum rather than take the two-week break before Spa, Norris was quick to dismiss the notion with a lighthearted quip.
“No, I needed two weeks off to be honest, to recover,” he told reporters at Spa on Thursday. “It was just nice to end that way. A week of recovering and enjoying some time away with my friends and a week of preparing for this weekend.
“In a similar way, it is quite short-lived. I feel like winning in Silverstone has nothing to do with tomorrow. I feel like we go out tomorrow and it doesn’t matter if we won the last five or ten races.
“In a way, no one cares about that. We can be the best tomorrow and perform the best over the next three days. It was great but I had to focus on this weekend.”
Norris’ wins, he explained, were the result of unlocking the car’s potential from early in the race weekend – something he’s still trying to achieve more consistently.
“The most positive thing from those two weekends was just that the pace was better from the off and I was more comfortable with the car and in understanding how to get the most pace from it,” he added.
“At times that brings more of a smile to my face than just winning the race itself because it’s progress, it’s seen progress and that’s always a very good thing, it’s a very rewarding thing. But I still know that there’s still more I need to get, there’s still more things.
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“I mean I feel better than what I did so do I feel more confident that I can have more performances like that? Yes.
“Do I feel as good as I still felt last season and that I’m performing at the same level consistently enough? I would still say no.
“I have more understanding of everything now but it’s still, we’re talking minute things like small, incredibly small gains here and there.
“So I feel more of a threat now, yes, but am I happy enough still with where I’m at, where the car is and my harmony with the car? It’s still not to the level that I want.”
Progress in Driving Style and Teamwork
With the spotlight shifting to whether Norris’ recent success is linked to technical updates – such as the MCL39’s new front suspension (which Piastri has yet to use) – he’s keen to emphasise that personal effort and adaptation play a larger role.
“How I drive the car, my ability to adapt to more driving styles, that’s really the main thing,” he said, describing the areas he’s working on.
“It’s also my job at the end of the day to drive whatever car I get given as quickly as possible.
“Also, some more things away from the track with my team. I have a very good group of people around me. So working on things on the track and off the track.
“How I can approach the weekends in a better way. Most of it is how I can work on being a better driver in the situation of struggling with things that I don’t like or I’m not used to or changes on the car for this year.”
While Norris remains critical of his own consistency, he also acknowledges the strides he’s made – and the threats he now poses in the title fight.
For now, the McLaren star is focused on unlocking those “incredibly small gains” that could make all the difference in his quest for the 2025 title.
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