Lewis Hamilton hounding led to 'insane concentration' - Lando Norris

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris in the Russian Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

Turkish Grand Prix

Hamilton hounding led to 'insane concentration' - Norris

McLaren driver learned a valuable lesson from disappointing Russia race

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Thursday 7 October 2021 17:59

Lando Norris believes he has “learned a lot” after being hounded by Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the recent Russian Grand Prix that he claims required 'insane concentration'.

Norris secured his first F1 pole and absorbed the pressure to pit himself on target for a maiden victory until a call to stay out on slick tyres as rain fell in the closing laps left him tumbling down the order.

The 21-year-old was visibly distraught after the race, but after analysing it with his team ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix he said: “There was actually a huge amount of positives from the weekend.

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“I still scored my first pole in Formula 1, I still managed to lead and manage the whole race very well from start to almost finish, and for the majority of the weekend, even on Sunday when it wasn’t going well, my driving was good.

“Leading the race, having Lewis behind me, there’s probably not any situation I have been in where there has been so much pressure on me as a driver, especially when the conditions started to get worse.

“The level of concentration you need is insane. It is something that is very difficult to describe to a person who hasn’t been in an F1 car in these conditions with Lewis in a Mercedes just behind you.“

Norris reveals need to communicate better

Now in his third year of F1 with McLaren, Norris has stepped up a level this season and with a car that is increasingly competitive he could be facing similar situations again in the future.

Norris ays he now just wants “to get back in the car and try again” but conceded that one of the biggest lessons he learned in Russia was the need to communicate better with his team during the race.

“A lot of the time I am the kind of driver that doesn’t like too many communications,” he explained. “I don’t talk too much, I like to just be quiet and drive.

“There’s a level I need to be able to add to that. I need to be able to talk quite a bit and have the information come to you and give the team information whilst still driving at pace.

“So just being in that situation was a good learning point. That’s an experience thing, not something you can just prepare for on Sunday morning.

"I was as prepared and ready as I could be, but that is something very different.”