“Why isn’t everyone telling him?” Query about Lando Norris attitude

Lando Norris’ self-critical mind-set could “spiral” and “get worse” which would benefit Oscar Piastri, he has been warned.

McLaren driver Lando Norris wears his heart on his sleeve with emotional post-session interviews, which can often be brutally honest about his own shortcomings.

Teammate Piastri has a far more orthodox approach to batting away questions about his performance.

The McLaren drivers lead the F1 drivers’ championship - Norris is three points clear of Piastri - before this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

But the pendulum swung in Piastri’s favour a week ago when he won the Bahrain Grand Prix, and appeared more comfortable driving the McLaren than his teammate.

'I don't know why Lando Norris feels like that'

“Oscar is leaning into the approach that he has, and it’s working well for him,” Jamie Chadwick told Sky Sports about his mind-set.

“I don’t think there is a right or wrong. As a sportsperson you can be the best version of yourself possible.

“But in this instance, I just don’t know why Lando feels like that.

“He’s got a great car, he’s a great driver, he’s got a great opportunity to win a world championship.

“Why isn’t everyone around him telling him that? Why isn’t he telling himself that?
“Okay, we all make mistakes. But constantly beating himself up, every time, seems like a spiral which will only get worse.”

Martin Brundle defended Norris’ right to express himself honestly - but highlighted why it might delight Max Verstappen or George Russell.

“That’s how he rocks and rolls,” Brundle said about Norris.

“We’re all different, thank goodness.

“He seems to need to give himself pain if the car isn’t quite right.

“The problem is, it feeds his rivals. It feeds Max, it feeds George. “Particularly, it feeds Oscar when you hear somebody showing vulnerability.”

Lando Norris 'unbeatable, if...'

Another issue facing Norris as F1 heads to Jeddah is that Piastri appeared significantly happier with driving the McLaren a week ago in Bahrain.

“The car is fast, probably a tenth faster than anybody else,” Brundle said.

“But it’s got a very clever front suspension system on it which is very aerodynamic. That’s the purpose of an extreme design geometry.

“I think it has taken away steering feel, but it’s an improvement overall.

“I think Lando is struggling, with less speed, to drive around it.”

Chadwick added: “It’s difficult to adapt, even harder when your teammate is adapting quicker.

“Whether Oscar is fully happy or not, I’m sure he’ll lead the team in that direction to make sure he has an advantage, in that sense.

“As a team, they are used to having two drivers that lead the team in a direction which makes the car for them to drive.

“It’s not like other teams in the pitlane whose car is always a handful.”

Brundle replied to a question about McLaren’s top dog: “I think they are equal No1s with matching talents.

“If Lando brings his A-game in every grand prix, and he gets out in front, he’s pretty unbeatable.

“But there’s a lot of ‘ifs’ there…”