Lando Norris has defended his banter-filled approach to Formula 1 by pointing to the impact his relationship with Carlos Sainz had at McLaren.
The young Briton became a fan favourite last year with his memes and antics and already this year, McLaren ran a skit with Lando “accidentally” revealing a February 13th launch date of the 2020 car this week.
He also formed quite the bromance with teammate Sainz and that lack of any egos and rivalry proved a refreshing change for the Woking-based squad in their best season since 2014.
“We’re both looking at the longer game of ‘if we both want to achieve what we want to achieve, which is to win races, to win championships, the best thing is to work together’,” Norris explained at the Autosport International event last weekend.
“We wouldn’t have finished P4 in the championship as a team if we didn’t work as well together as we did last year.
“A big part of what we have achieved is because of how we work together, how we help each other, how we try and help the team.
“At the moment, it’s only benefiting us in every way. I hope it continues because I just want to have fun and enjoy it and he does as well.”
After jumping from backmarkers at the end of 2018 to ‘best of the rest’ in 2019, Norris did concede it is unlikely McLaren will make a similar jump in performance again this year, with the MCL35 more of an “adaptation” of last year’s “completely different” car from its predecessor.
However, with his own increased experience and the team’s greater knowledge of where to improve on last season, the 20-year-old still expects solid gains.
“I want to say I’m more confident in my own driving because it’s my second year in Formula 1, so I now feel a lot more confident,” he said.
“But also the team has done a very good job and [is] working on, particularly obviously the areas which we were not good [at] last year – that we were quite weak in.
“Which was almost every corner but there’s still more specific corners, which we struggled in.
“So it’s trying to work on those areas and, from the results I’ve seen, it’s looking positive. It’s going in the right direction, but we still need more to be really competitive.”
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And while Norris was recently reported as suggesting he may tone down some of the jokes which he became known for in his rookie year, he still promised to be the jovial character that fans like so much about him.
“I try to be [myself],” the 20-year-old stated. “Formula 1 is quite enclosed. It’s a little world and not many people express or as normal as maybe they should be. People act and F1 changes people in a way, but I just want to have fun.
“I love F1 and it’s everything I’ve dreamt of doing my whole life and everything I’ve worked towards, but at the same time, I just want to enjoy every moment. Not just driving the car but it’s away from the paddock, it’s here – I just want to enjoy it, have fun and enjoy my life.
“I guess that’s what you see from the outside. It’s maybe a bit different from a lot of people. I don’t know.
“I have to get the balance right because, at the same time, you get a lot of people that say it looks like I’m enjoying it too much and maybe not concentrating enough and everything, but I don’t really care what they say to be honest.”
