Lando Norris cites strength in avoiding "big stupid mistakes"

McLaren

Norris cites strength in avoiding "big stupid mistakes"

Norris joined F1's elite at the top of the sport in 2021

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Friday 31 December 2021 11:10

Lando Norris has cited his lack of any "big stupid mistakes" in 2021 as one of his biggest strengths after joining F1's elite.

The McLaren driver narrowly missed out on finishing in the top five of the drivers' standings despite challenging for the top three for a considerable chunk of the campaign.

Performances in Austria and Russia particularly caught the eye, with a maiden pole position in Sochi highlighting his talents, with his fall down the championship order down to circumstance rather than any errors made by the British driver.

Article continues under video

Norris had previously declared his frustration at losing positions despite his apparent consistency throughout the season.

When he was pointed towards his successes in 2021 during an interview that included GPFans, Norris replied: "No, I agree, but [there has] definitely still been some things.

"When I say it's not going to be something which will make me three or four positions forward, I don't think that's... there's maybe been just a handful of times which have cost me something more than one or two positions.

"The rest of it will be something on a qualifying lap, or preparation through Friday because I made a mistake or I damaged the car, which then cost lap time, like track time and so on.

"That has then maybe cost me one-tenth in qualifying, or half a tenth in the race, or the tyre-saving, like I lose one position because I didn't save the tyres well enough.

"Nothing has cost me a lot of points, which I think has probably been one of my strengths this season, that I've not made any big stupid mistakes, apart from Spa probably, or Brazil.

"A positive is I've been very consistent, and when I say I made a mistake, it's something which has cost me one position. Nothing bigger than that."