Lando Norris reveals early season struggles: “I have to think too much when driving, and that costs me time”. Lando Norris reveals he's struggling with the MCL39 in 2025.

Lando Norris and a disappointing start
He was expected to be the number one favorite for the title, yet once again Lando Norris finds himself having to play catch-up. The British driver has lost the lead in the standings, handing it over to Oscar Piastri who, with three wins in the first five Grands Prix, has surged ahead and possibly overturned the hierarchy within McLaren.

Lando Norris is paying the price for concentration lapses, also due to the pressure of delivering results, which cost him dearly in 2024 and are now hampering his pursuit of a first title. These are mistakes he keeps making, yet when the engines are off, he can explain them clearly—proof that most of the work ahead is mental.

Lando Norris’ words
For the Briton, the root cause is a Formula 1 where margins are razor-thin and no mistakes are forgiven. This forces him (and others) to drive at 100% at all times, but doing so requires perfect harmony with the car: “This year it’s been about details. The underlying feeling I have with this car is that things don’t flow naturally. And when you have to drive in a way that’s a bit less natural, you can lose two, three, four hundredths, which can be the difference between pole and third place,” he told The-Race. “I can’t get the most out of the car the way I’d like. It’s complicated, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that people don’t know and can’t see.”

“You can’t afford to leave anything on the table. You have to push to the limit, and to do that you need to feel that you’re at the limit in braking, corner entry, mid-corner, and exit. If things don’t go as expected, and you can’t predict the understeer or oversteer, then you have to think. And when you have to think consciously, you lose hundredths of a second,” he continued. “The higher the level, the more precision is required. To achieve that, you have to feel completely in tune with the car—and that was an area where I felt really strong in 2024. Now I’m not as precise, and I’m paying the price with serious mistakes, lockups, and more.” – the British driver concluded ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.