Steiner has stern advice for Norris: 'Grow bigger balls'

Guenther Steiner has been direct with Lando Norris after watching his performance at the Italian Grand Prix. The former Haas team boss has told the driver to be more aggressive with his radio calls and look to make bolder decisions.

Norris has a shot at winning the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, but it's a tall order. With eight Grands Prix and three sprint races remaining, Norris has a 62-point gap to bridge to Max Verstappen. He needs to take an average of eight points out of Verstappen's lead every weekend to stand a chance of toppling the Dutchman in Abu Dhabi. It's a tough challenge but it's doable, as McLaren has the strongest car at the majority of circuits.

That gap could've been a little bit smaller. Most expected the Brit to take a large chunk out of Verstappen's lead when he put his McLaren car on pole for the Italian Grand Prix, and Verstappen found himself starting in seventh. However, Norris lost out to his teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap of the Grand Prix and let Charles Leclerc overtake at the same time.

Steiner has never worked with a driver or team capable of winning two Formula 1 World Championships in the same season. He sees the chance arise for McLaren and Norris but thinks the attitude and mentality will have to change quickly.

"What frustrates me is, Piastri overtakes him and there's never a bad reaction or emotional reaction from Lando. I would go on the radio and say 'what the f**k is all this about?' In a loud voice," Steiner said on the Red Flags Podcast.

"He beats himself up, and I think we need to tell him to grow bigger balls. It cannot be played out politically with papaya rules. You need to fight hard for it. He gave back the victory [in Hungary]. I don't know many drivers who would've done that. That makes him a good human being, but it's not the right attitude to have to win a World Championship," Steiner added before highlighting that this chance might not come around often, if at all.