Lando Norris said Zandvoort was an important reality check, a setback which helped propel him to World Championship glory.<\/p>\n
Rather than instilling a feeling of there being nothing to lose, Norris<\/a> said he knew he needed to \u201cstep up\u201d in all areas after the Dutch Grand Prix, where a late retirement dropped him 34 points behind teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the standings.<\/p>\n Lando Norris had to \u2018change\u2019 after Zandvoort<\/p>\n Piastri led the championship for much of the season up to the Dutch GP. There, it appeared as though the Australian had taken a gigantic step towards the crown with victory, all while Norris suffered the heartbreak of a late retirement, forced to park his smoking McLaren.<\/p>\n Yet, Norris rallied and turned the tide. What was a 34-point deficit, became Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a> victory for Norris, who saw off eventual runner-up Max Verstappen by two points. Piastri finished third, 13 points behind Norris.<\/p>\n Speaking following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Norris had been asked whether Zandvoort actually released the pressure and allowed him to perform at his best from then on. Norris clarified that Zandvoort actually had the opposite impact.<\/p>\n \u201cI honestly would just want to say no,\u201d Norris replied to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media. \u201cIt didn\u2019t allow me to relax. Like, when I see 34 points against a guy who\u2019s in the same car, who\u2019s doing an incredible job, who I know is incredibly quick, that didn\u2019t fill me with confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t like, \u2018I\u2019ve got nothing to lose now, I can just go.\u2019 I felt like I was trying to do everything I could before, and I continued to try and do everything I could after.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I just had to step up what I was doing away from the track. The people I was working with, I added more people to that group. I had to work harder both on the simulator and here at track. I had to change my approaches. I had to change my\u2026 yeah, like a lot of people do. I had to dig deep and try and understand more things quicker and in a more advanced way than I ever have before.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what gave me the advantage I had \u2013 not, \u2018Oh, the pressure\u2019s off, I can go and do what I\u2019d like to do.\u2019 It was really the opposite. I was like, \u2018Oh, shoot. I\u2019m quite a long way behind against a pretty freaking fast driver, and I\u2019ve got to step it up.\u2019 And I\u2019ve got to be more myself because of external factors \u2014 working with more professionals in different areas to unlock more of my ability.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think when you saw that, I had that run of great results, which is ultimately what got me the championship in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Lando Norris from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Lando Norris is the world champion. Now what next?<\/a><\/p>\n The right World Champion? F1 fans deliver resounding Lando Norris verdict<\/a><\/p>\n Norris was asked to clarify whether post-Zandvoort was the point where he started to change things up, or if that process had already started earlier in the season.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHonestly, I can\u2019t remember the exact time things started. Certainly levelled up a lot more through the halfway point \u2013 around Zandvoort time \u2013 but it definitely started prior to that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started after I had that kind of bad run in race two, three, four, five, six, that kind of area. Or certainly when it was like, \u2018Alright, my way is not working. I\u2019ve got to understand things differently. I\u2019ve got to speak to more people. I\u2019ve got to understand what I\u2019m thinking, why I\u2019m thinking it. Why am I doing this? Why am I getting tense in qualifying? Why am I making the decisions that I\u2019m making?\u2019 Whatever it may be.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, the bad run of results and lack of performance \u2014 not speed, because I think the speed\u2019s always there \u2014 but lack of putting things together when I had the capability of putting things together, allowed or opened up the doors to go and understand: \u2018Okay, I need to do more than just try again next weekend. I need to try and understand things on a deeper level.\u2019 Mentally.<\/p>\n \u201cThat opened up understanding myself more, understanding things more at a championship level. That\u2019s the level I\u2019ve got to be at. They are world champions.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yes, certainly the struggles turned into strength. So I would say, if I didn\u2019t have those struggles at the beginning and then had the weakness at the end, would I have caught on to those things as quickly? Probably not. So I was thankful that I had some of the tough moments early on and managed to turn them around.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got in that kind of good rhythm in the last three months, almost when there\u2019s been more pressure than ever, was almost when I felt most comfortable and most confident into qualifying. I could go from chatting to my engineers and having a fun time with my mechanics to going out and getting pole a few minutes later.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, yeah, the struggle at the beginning really allowed me to unlock my potential later on.\u201d<\/p>\n Norris ended McLaren\u2019s wait for a new Drivers\u2019 Champion which had been ongoing since 2008, when Lewis Hamilton won his sole title with the team, and first of a record-equalling seven.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch<\/p>\n