Lando Norris hopes new-found confidence can help fire him to first F1 title
Norris leads the drivers’ standings for the first time – ending Max Verstappen’s 63-race streak at the summit.
Lando Norris has admitted he lacked confidence last season but hopes a new-found self-belief will fire him to world championship glory.
The British driver heads to the second round of the new Formula One campaign in China this weekend sitting on top of the pile after he won a chaotic, rain-hit Australian Grand Prix.
It marks the first time Norris has ever led the drivers’ standings – ending Verstappen’s 63-race streak at the summit – and the 25-year-old conceded in the aftermath of Sunday’s race in Melbourne that he now has to be considered the title favourite given the early advantage his McLaren team holds.
Norris was soundly beaten by Verstappen last year as his attempt to dethrone the Dutchman unravelled through a series of mistakes.
But Norris said he has arrived for the next instalment of his battle against Verstappen, who he beat by just 0.8 seconds at Albert Park, with a different mindset.
“I feel like I have come into this season more calm and more relaxed than I normally am,” said Norris following the fifth victory of his career.
“I have a little bit of confidence, not too much of it but I lacked confidence last season. Now I have a good balance of confidence and the knowledge that I can go out and do well when I have got to do it.
“I have got faith in myself and that is a nice thing to have because it keeps me calm and when I am calm, I am quick and when I am quick, I can win.”
After locking out the front row of the grid in Melbourne, McLaren looked on course to claim a one-two finish before Oscar Piastri ran off the road when the rain intensified in the closing stages.
By the time the second safety car was introduced on lap 34 after Fernando Alonso crashed out, Norris was 18 seconds clear of third-placed Verstappen and more than half-a-minute clear of Mercedes’ George Russell, who was running in fourth.
And Red Bull’s Verstappen, who is this season bidding to win the title for a fifth consecutive time, said: “Finishing second is good compared to the other teams behind us but if you look back at the first stint of the race we were quite a bit off the pace.
“As soon as the tyres started to overheat, we had no chance and McLaren just took off into the distance. We still have a lot of work to do to fight for a win.”