Lando Norris stated he is "happy" with his individual performances this Formula 1 season, even as he acknowledges the difficulties in fully understanding and extracting the maximum from his McLaren car. He is currently one point behind his teammate Oscar Piastri in the championship standings, with both drivers having experienced retirements. Norris leads their head-to-head qualifying record 7-4 and holds a slight pace advantage.
"My performances this year have been, on average, better than last season," Norris told BBC Sport. "I still find it a very complicated car to drive and difficult to understand session in, session out. Like, what is needed every single track, corner, set-up, what is needed to really get everything out of this car."
He added that both he and Piastri are still working to fully comprehend the car's intricacies. "So, we're still struggling as a pair of drivers to understand that completely. But I feel like I've had a better start to the year than last year."
Norris drew a parallel between his current season and that of fellow British driver George Russell, who is in a title fight with his teammate Antonelli. Like Norris in the previous year, Russell won the opening race but then encountered a difficult period while his teammate gained a significant lead. Despite their professional rivalry, Norris noted that he and Russell have not discussed this coincidence, attributing their differing personalities as a factor.
"Me and George are quite different in terms of personalities," Norris said. "Yeah, he's often more sneaky with things. I think I'm more just open with things."
He also offered praise for his teammate Piastri, stating, "Oscar did an amazing job at times last year when he was beating me. I was like, 'I've done a bad job and he's doing a good job.' I'm not afraid to say when someone's doing a good job."
Norris also commented on Kimi Antonelli, who is competing with George Russell. "Kimi's been doing an incredible job this season. You know, at 19 years old, second year in Formula 1, it's impressive what he's doing. He's also in Formula 1 for a reason, so I don't think it should be a surprise."
He acknowledged Russell's recent struggles, noting, "George is obviously having some ups and downs - he's certainly had more problems and issues and setbacks than Kimi's had. It's hard to overcome them at times, especially when you feel like you're on for a win or a pole or whatever it might have been. But he's a smart person. I think he understands what is needed personally from his own side. And therefore, I'm confident that he can bounce back when he needs to."