Lando Norris labels 'basic extraction' to take next step with McLaren

Lando Norris

Norris labels 'basic extraction' to take next step with McLaren

Briton finished sixth in drivers' championship in 2021

Ian Parkes & Topher Smith

Friday 4 March 2022 14:47

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Lando Norris has labelled consistency as a key area for improvement going into the new F1 season as he is hoping to “learn from myself” and reduce the number of on-track mistakes that cost valuable points.

Norris enjoyed his best season to date last year, scoring four podiums en route to a personal best sixth position in the drivers’ standings and securing his maiden pole position at the Russian Grand Prix.

A misjudgement of the worsening conditions during the race, however, saw the McLaren driver throw away what would have been a maiden victory as he slid off the wet track on slick tyres at turn six with only a handful of laps to go.

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In a media briefing that included GPFans, the 22-year-old spoke of the time he has spent in the simulator and with the engineers, identifying where he wants to improve heading into his fourth season of F1.

“What do I want to learn from myself and extract from myself to do a better job than last season? From the outside, the more basic things are really just consistency,” said Norris.

“I took a very good step from two years ago to last season and to not have these little mistakes that were very costly, let’s say the one with the Ferrari and Carlos [Sainz] in Brazil.

“Obviously, the last two races [in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi] were punctures but there were just a couple of things along the way which led me to not scoring points maybe when I should have done and it was maybe only on two occasions or so.

“But a few when maybe I was eighth and I should have finished sixth or fifth, so consistency."

Norris aiming for “Q3 at every opportunity”

When asked about his personal expectations for 2022 and the targets he has set himself, Norris hopes consistently strong qualifying can put him and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in a good position to challenge at the front.

“Just making sure I’m in Q3 at every opportunity I have to be in Q3, or Q2, and just being there when it counts which I think I started off doing very well last season," added Norris.

“That is why we were so strong at the end of the season. It was that first half from myself and the team, of course, it was extremely strong and we made the most of every opportunity we had.

“The second half of the season, from the outside it just looked worse. But going through our info and our notes and so on, it was just as strong as the first half from the driving. I don’t think anything was worse.

“It’s just we didn’t have as competitive a car compared to others and especially Ferrari so we could be there when it counted and we couldn’t be there when those opportunities arose and they could.

“Consistency is one of the main things. It’s just making sure I’m there when I need to be, I’m there for those opportunities and especially early on in the season when there will be reliability [issues] because of a new car and things. That is the main thing.”