Many were surprised by McLaren’s performance on Friday, particularly Lando Norris’. Among them is Jenson Button, who is concerned about Lando Norris following the McLaren driver’s disappointing Sprint qualifying. The 2009 world champion believes that Lando Norris’ emotions could get the better of him as he battles Max Verstappen for the drivers’ title. On the other hand, Button praised Verstappen. Lando Norris is trying to catch up with the Dutch driver for the 2024 World Drivers’ Championship. However, he had a tough start to the US Grand Prix weekend, managing only fourth place in Friday’s sprint qualifying, while Verstappen took pole position. 2009 world champion Jenson Button is worried that Norris might struggle to control his emotions and avoid more mistakes this weekend.
“It’s difficult because Lando is very emotional,” Button told Sky Sports. “When he makes mistakes, he always takes it out on himself, which is good in a way. I just hope he can put the disappointment of qualifying behind him. Do the debrief, move past it, and move on. It was a passing moment. If he does, I think he can have a good race starting from fourth.”
Lando Norris himself criticized his lap in the sprint qualifying, calling it “shocking.” However, fellow Sky Sports pundit Anthony Davidson disagreed. “I wouldn’t call it shocking, but there was definitely more in that McLaren. The good thing is that he’s very close to the pack, and who knows what he can do in terms of race pace,” said the former F1 driver.
Jenson Button’s point isn’t wrong. On more than one occasion, Lando Norris has shown that he’s not mentally ready to fight with Max Verstappen. When Max was battling Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen proved to have the composure when needed, unlike Lando Norris. It’s something that can be worked on and improved, but at the moment, these are the facts.
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