Norris started this year with a win in Australia, but after that the first part of the season was a struggle. His team-mate Oscar Piastri had progressed significantly through some assiduous work with the team over the winter, and Norris was not feeling the car in the way he needed to be quick.
Developments over the winter had made the new car faster, but introduced what the drivers called a “numbness” to the front axle, which was preventing Norris’ ability to exploit the car.
A tweak to the front suspension was developed to improve Norris’ feel, and introduced in Canada in June. It was not an overnight fix, and was relatively minor in nature, but undoubtedly after that the trend line of Norris’ trajectory was a positive one.
Despite falling 34 points behind Piastri at the end of August, Norris has clinched the title just nine races later.
Norris attributes his resilience to the “good group of people around me, to support me, to direct me, help me, whether it’s been a good weekend or a bad weekend, people who always have my best interest at heart and are there to give me the right mentality when I’m down.
“Two reasons I’ve done well are: one, I’ve done a better job, so I’m performing better more often; and two, I’m not always more positive, but I’m more positive and less negative about when I have bad days and bad sessions. And I believe in myself a bit more that I can turn it around.
“A lot of work away from the track with different people. A lot of work at the track. But it all starts with my team around me.”
Stella has a phrase for this. He calls it “acknowledging the gap to perfection” – a description he has used for Alonso’s approach to his career. It means that however good a driver is, they look to their weaknesses, and work on mitigating them. It is a constantly evolving process.
F1 drivers generally don’t talk about this stuff, and if they do it tends to be in an allusive manner that tries to hide any weaknesses.
Carlin says: “He doesn’t see that as a weakness because he’s such an authentic, genuine person. It’s not even in his nature to hide that process.
“To some extent, you’ve got to be in the environment to challenge you. And although Lando’s had a few seasons in F1 now, he’s not had multiple seasons in condition to be a championship contender.
“So he’s continued to develop through his F1 career, but to some extent the rate of your development is constrained by the extent of your potential. And if your potential is limited by various factors, such as your car and relative pace to other teams, then that has an impact on how far you can develop at what pace.
“But when he’s been delivered with a car capable of challenging for the championship, his own development has accelerated to match that.
“So it’s with those great opportunities and those greatest challenges that his development rate has actually sped up, to kind of mirror-image that.”
Which should mean there is more to come.
