Jacques Villeneuve said that Lando Norris being \u201cvery vocal about his mistakes\u201d is a trait which he has long since regarded a \u201csuper strength\u201d, not a weakness as some others have.<\/p>\n
Villeneuve compared Norris\u2019 approach to that of 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, known as \u2018The Iceman\u2019 for his steely, no-nonsense persona. But, Villeneuve said that Raikkonen was an example of a driver not displaying his true emotions.<\/p>\n
Jacques Villeneuve: Lando Norris approach \u2018how you make progress\u2019<\/p>\n
Norris<\/a> has been very open in the past about his struggles with mental health, and is known as a driver to be hard on himself. That has stirred up a continued debate over how this translates into potential for F1 success.<\/p>\n Norris is answering that question in F1 2025. An engine failure back at Zandvoort left him 34 points behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the Drivers\u2019 Championship, but Norris has transformed that into a one-point lead with four rounds to go.<\/p>\n Last time out in Mexico, the pressure was on for Norris, as he prepared to launch from pole, while Piastri was P7 only. Max Verstappen, who has worked his way back into the title fight, was fifth on the grid. Opportunity was knocking in a major way.<\/p>\n Norris\u2019 answer was to dominate, as he took the chequered flag with a victory margin of 30 seconds over Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n Appearing on Sky\u2019s \u2018The F1 Show\u2019 podcast, Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, stressed that he always believed in Norris\u2019 honest approach, which leads to the \u201cprogress\u201d which the Brit is now displaying.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are too quick to judge on the psychic of a driver, just because of what we see on the outside. But that doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s what\u2019s going on internally,\u201d said Villeneuve.<\/p>\n \u201cLando was always very vocal about his mistakes. Even when they weren\u2019t, he was actually taking the blame, and everybody judged that as him being so weak and beaten and down, and I always thought no, actually, being able to admit, to go out like that, to always take the blame, that\u2019s how you make progress.<\/p>\n \u201cOwning your own mistakes, and even the ones that aren\u2019t yours, that\u2019s how you actually step up, understand, what can I do different so I don\u2019t get into that situation again. It\u2019s not a weakness. It\u2019s a super strength, to be able to blurt it out like that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, in modern society and social media, you just get blasted. \u2018Oh, look how weak he is. He\u2019s talking down on himself.\u2019 No, that wasn\u2019t weakness, and we can see it now with the reaction where a lot of other drivers are completely expressionless.\u201d<\/p>\n Take Kimi Raikkonen, Villeneuve says, for example.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the same thing with Raikkonen in the past,\u201d Villeneuve continued. \u201cEverybody would say, \u2018Oh, Iceman. Look, nothing gets to him.\u2019 And that was totally the opposite. Internally, they were melting, but we just couldn\u2019t see it, and by the time we realised, it\u2019s often too late.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the F1 2025 title showdown from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 How potential engine grid penalties could play a decisive role in the F1 title race<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Does McLaren actually want to win the drivers\u2019 title?<\/a><\/p>\n Nine-time F1 podium visitor Martin Brundle also appeared on the podcast. It was put to him that while Norris traditionally faced question marks over whether he had the stomach for a title fight<\/a>, that has now transitioned to Piastri, amid a drop in form at this crucial point on the season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pressure game,\u201d said Brundle. \u201cThat\u2019s the same in any high-level sport. It\u2019s mostly in your head in the end.<\/p>\n \u201cBut a year ago, I\u2019d have said no with Lando, but he and the team have done so much work on this aspect, just the way he\u2019s batted away disappointment.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Baku, whatever they say, Baku was a wasted opportunity. Obviously, the contact in Canada hurt him. He couldn\u2019t do anything about the engine failure in Zandvoort, and he obviously couldn\u2019t do anything about getting clouted in Austin. But he\u2019s managing that, even the booing at the end of the race [in Mexico].<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just finding a way to compartmentalise that, package it up, not let it get to him. And Lando of a year or two ago, wouldn\u2019t have handled the start as well as that [in Mexico]. I think he\u2019s really sort of completing the full set of cards there.\u201d<\/p>\n