Norris remains realistic: "But I did better than last year"

Lando Norris says he owes his top performance at the beginning of the new season mainly to his self-critical character. The young Briton scored his first podium finish in the first race of 2020 and in the race that followed he said he was 'my best race ever'.

Hard work

"I have the ability to be harsh on myself and in a lot of scenarios it's good I am able to realise that. It makes me work hard that I am not happy with the job I have done", Norris said in an interview with the BBC.

Norris is currently in a neat fourth place in the championship, a place he owes mainly to the top performances he delivered on the Red Bull Ring during the first two races of the championship. He scored his first podium by achieving a fastest lap in the final lap of the race and finished fifth in the second race when he overtaken Racing Point driver Sergio Perez just ahead of the finish line.

Race pace and mentality had to change

"I had to work on my weaknesses and purely my race pace from last year, but also my mentality and how I acted at the race track. I'm still having fun and enjoying myself and having laughs but at the same time dedicating more time to focus on the important thing, which is the racing and the driving, and just to be a bit more serious when I've got to be", says the McLaren driver.

Norris says it's very rewarding for him to see the progress, but he remains realistic: "I'm not saying I'm perfect and I'm a way better race driver than I was but I've been doing a better job than last year."