Lando Norris reveals F1 'chaos' that left him seeking therapy

Lando Norris

Lando Norris reveals F1 'chaos' that left him seeking therapy

Norris entered F1 as a teenager

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Wednesday 1 October 2025 09:52

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Lando Norris has revealed why he works with a therapist, as he nears the end of his seventh season in F1.

The McLaren star and title challenger was just 19 when he started his first race in the most popular motorsport in the world, and revealed to Vogue recently that it was the pressure of those early years outside of the car – rather than in it – which caused him anxiety and led to his ongoing work with a therapist.

The popular 25-year-old admitted that a racing car acts as a kind of comfort bubble for him, saying it's 'basically everything else in the world' that causes him discomfort.

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Actually, he claimed, it's his mother who gets the most nervous when he steps into an F1 car, insisting that he feels 'much safer' than people expect.

Norris reveals key to F1 crashes

Opening up on his early entry into the sport, Norris admitted: “The amount of people, the videos, the TV cameras, journalists. That’s the most unnatural bit for me. You don’t see that when you’re watching when you’re a kid. You just see the cool side: the cars, the podium. You don’t see the chaos.”

The Brit is currently 25 points behind team-mate Oscar Piastri in a two-horse title race (no matter how much McLaren continue to hype up the threat of Max Verstappen), and pushing hard for what would be the first title of his career before next year's rule changes alter the complexion of the sport.

With Singapore next on the calendar this weekend, Norris is heading back to his comfort zone. “I feel super comfy in a car and basically everything else in the world I don’t feel comfortable with,” he explained.

“My mum is the most nervous. You feel safer inside [the car] than what my parents think it is from the outside. You’re very much in control. Until you’re not...Which can happen.”

Asked to describe the experience of crashing an F1 car, he explained: “You become a passenger. You know that it’s going to happen at some points, when you’re on the limit, trying to be the quickest…”

He added: “The main part of being a good racing driver is learning from it, not remembering it. You don’t want it to have a bad effect.”

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