Norris confident of making a comeback to top of ranking

Lando Norris has made it clear ahead of the Miami Grand Prix that he feels no pressure from his current position in the title race, despite teammate Oscar Piastri’s impressive early-season form.

After ceding the championship lead to Piastri, who now sits 10 points ahead following three wins in the first five races, Norris addressed questions about whether he’s concerned about his title challenge slipping away.

“No, not worried at all. He’s doing a good job, and he deserves it,” Norris stated when asked about Piastri’s performance. “I don’t believe so much in the momentum stuff; it’s just my opinion. But I’m doing what I can. 

“Clearly, I’ve made some mistakes and not at the level I need to be. But I believe I can be at the level soon enough, so no reason to be worried”.

Norris acknowledged that he’s faced challenges adapting to McLaren’s new car, which has taken some major changes compared to last year. “There are just certain things that don’t allow me to feel what I need to feel, and those things are what allow me to drive to the level I can drive at, get pole positions, and drive at the highest level in racing.

“We’re talking about small things. When we’re talking about qualifying at hundredths and thousandths of seconds, that’s what I’m complaining about. He is maybe more naturally able to adapt and I also think it is a driver’s job to adapt.”

Even with his recent struggles, most notably a crash in Q3 at Jeddah that left him fourth in the race, Norris remains focused on self-improvement rather than external factors: “I know I need to get a move on, and I need to get into gear a little bit, but I’m doing the best I can every weekend at the minute and trying to improve.”

Norris is making it quite clear that he has what it takes to shoot back up to number one on the leaderboard. He’s also not depending solely on McLaren’s upcoming car upgrades, which could take some time to happen, to turn things around, as he is also making some personal changes to see how well things improve in the coming races.