Lando Norris admits he’s still chasing F1 2024 performance despite 2025 success

Despite securing four wins and sitting within striking distance of the championship lead, McLaren’s Lando Norris still feels like he’s chasing his F1 2024 performance.

F1’s most recent winner admitted that he feels “happier” with his driving, but it’s taking far more work.

Lando Norris ‘happier’ with performance, but still craving more

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

With four wins on the season — one at the season opener, one at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix, and two back-to-back in Austria and Silverstone — Lando Norris is clearly performing well in 2025.

But the McLaren driver still feels he’s struggling to perform as well as he did in 2024.

Norris has spoken regularly this year about how the current McLaren MCL39 does not suit his driving style, which has created an additional barrier he must overcome on his pursuit of the championship.

Speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, during a media session ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Norris was asked to elaborate further on what he feels he needs to improve.

“My driving,” he admitted. “How I drive the car; how I adapt to more driving styles, per se.

“That’s really the main thing, is working [on] how I drive the car.

“It’s also my job at the end of the day to drive whatever car I get given as quickly as possible.”

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Norris stated that while he’s also been hard at work improving his mindset and performance off the track, everything is geared toward “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.”

In fact, Norris has continued to herald 2024 as being the season where he performed his best — though he’s starting to find that same inner strength this year.

“I feel like I climbed a little bit back to where I was,” he told media.

“I certainly feel happier. And I think Austria was a place I felt the happiest, even happier than I was in Silverstone, with the car, with the knowledge of where I can push, how I can push, and all those things. It’s always been a good track for for me.

“So I think, you know, a selection of things came together. And the pace I had then in qualifying was, was quite easily and most convincingly the best I’ve had all season. And just in my laps consistently were always up there in P1.

“I think there was some positive things that came from that we’re still trying to work on, things to give me more from the car, in order to allow me to unlock that more often, like I was doing last season.

“But like we said in the first question, like there are certain things that I just have to work on and be better at.

“And I feel like I have, and I think that’s been a nice thing is that I had the two wins.”

These past two race weekends have been strong ones for Norris, and his back-to-back victories could indeed signal a turnaround for his season — but it’s not the wins that Norris has most cherished.

“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 admitted.

“At times, that brings a more of a smile to my face than just winning the race itself, because it’s progress. And that’s that’s always a very good thing. It’s a very rewarding thing.

“But I still know that there’s still some more I need to get.”

Still, he feels there’s more to improve.

“Do I feel more confident that I can have more performances like that? Yes,” he said.

“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 we’re talking minute things, like small, incredibly small gains here and there. But I feel more of a threat now, yes.

“But am I happy enough still with whether where I’m at, where the car is, and my harmony with the car? It’s still not to the level that I that I want.”

After a three-week break, Formula 1 returns this weekend for an action-packed Belgian Grand Prix, where Sunday’s race will be accompanied by a sprint on Saturday. This provides a strong opportunity for a dominant driver to rack up plenty of points — but it remains to be seen whether or not Norris’ winning streak will continue.

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