Lando Norris reacts to attacks and criticism he faced in 2024: “I just had to live with it”. Lando Norris speaks again about the constant criticism and attacks he has faced in 2024.

In the world of competition, not just motorsports, everything matters. Speed, talent, aggression, and consistency are the main aspects of racing, but a fifth factor cannot be overlooked: psychological resilience, which plays a fundamental role. Maintaining focus at all times is crucial to becoming a world champion. This, perhaps, is what Lando Norris lacked the most, leading to significant criticism.

Lando Norris, as we know, is one of the twenty fastest drivers in Formula 1 today. Since his debut in the top tier of motorsport back in 2019, he has proven his worth. Despite not having a top-performing McLaren, he managed to finish 11th in the world championship.

But it was in his second year that he began to impress. At the season opener in Austria, he secured a third-place finish. By the end of the season, there were only four occasions where the McLaren driver finished outside the points. In the following years, particularly after the regulation changes in 2022, McLaren’s performance began to decline.

Because of this, he only managed one podium finish until mid-2023. However, from Silverstone onward, everything changed: McLaren introduced a completely revamped car, a 2.0 version of the MCL60. With a series of podium finishes, the number 4 driver ended the season in sixth place.

The first real satisfactions came last season. He secured his first victory in Miami, followed by wins in the Netherlands, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. Thanks to all this, McLaren returned to winning the Constructors’ Championship after many years—their last triumph dating back to 1999 with Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard.

But it was precisely when Norris entered the title fight with Verstappen that the criticism began. On many occasions, the English driver’s limitations became evident, especially on a psychological level. Numerous poor starts, repeated questions about his battle with Verstappen, and multiple team errors threw him into complete confusion.

Speaking on The Fast and the Curious podcast, Norris addressed this issue: “I am completely in favor of people having their own opinions and saying, ‘What if he had done this…? What if he had done that…?’ I understand that many people’s job is to comment on and discuss these things publicly.”

“The only thing I don’t respect is people who think they know more when they most likely don’t because they weren’t there in that situation, they weren’t living that moment. And then there’s also the falsehoods.”

“Over time, you learn to deal with these things. It’s something that probably affected me more in the past than it does now. Last year, I realized that we just have to accept it. Of course, I’m much happier when I get support, but I know I will be criticized. I constantly criticize myself; I want the team to criticize me. I prefer criticism over pretense.”