F1 World Champion Lando Norris: “I’ve had to adapt my driving style every year”

With the comprehensive rule changes implemented this year, the job of the GP stars has changed. In particular, the new energy distribution within the power units is having an impact on work in the cockpit and beyond. Energy management presents a major challenge for drivers and engineers alike.

Several GP stars have confirmed that they have had to adapt their driving style; Mercedes star George Russell also explained that the way the new cars need to be driven to achieve fast lap times plays into the hands of his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. He himself, on the other hand, has had to make a few adjustments.

World Champion Lando Norris responded to this in Hungary. The McLaren driver emphasised: “I’ve had to adapt my driving style every year. I suppose it worked well for him for 20 years, but that wasn’t the case for me. It worked in 2018, when I did my first free practice sessions in Formula 1. But that was it. Since then, I’ve had to make changes.”

Lando Norris: “That’s what we’re paid millions for”

The Briton, who is competing in his eighth season in the premier class of motor racing, is convinced: “The more experience you have in Formula 1, the better equipped you should be in this regard. If you’re not prepared to adapt to a different car, then you’re not up to the required standard. That’s our job; that’s what we’re paid millions for. You have to get on with the car you’re given, whether it’s good, bad, easy or difficult to drive. You just have to make it work.”

He even has to adapt his driving style from one race weekend to the next, explained the 26-year-old: “At the moment, at every single race, I feel as though I have to forget everything I learnt at the previous race weekend about how to drive the new car. Every driver is different in that respect, but for me, my whole career has revolved around the question of how I can adapt.”

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