Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, has counseled rookie driver Lando Norris, pushing him to strike a balance between self-criticism and self-improvement after Norris expressed significant self-criticism following a difficult weekend in Qatar.
During the Qatar Grand Prix, Norris was particularly critical of his own performance, pointing out that mistakes on the track had cost him potential pole positions in both the F1 Sprint and the main Grand Prix event.
During the Shootout, a mistake at the final bend stopped him from challenging his teammate, Oscar Piastri, for pole position.
Furthermore, Norris violated two track regulations on Friday, resulting in the disqualification of his Qualifying 3 circuits and relegation to 10th on the starting row.
These defeats left the 23-year-old driver profoundly unhappy in his own performance, and he did not hold back from publicly criticizing himself.
Norris stated after the race in Qatar, “If I’m being honest with myself, I should have fought for two pole positions this weekend, and potentially two victories.”
“I realize it’s a bold statement, but I believe that if things went well, if I just did a better job and didn’t make the mistakes I did over the last two days…
“That’s why I’ve been so frustrated because I knew what was on the horizon in terms of what we could potentially achieve, and that was victories.”
“So I feel like it was a weekend of missed opportunities for me to take the fight to Max and at the very least give myself a chance.”
“I feel like I missed out and didn’t do or achieve what I should have done, but I’m definitely happy with a P3.”
“I can’t take anything away from that, but in the back of my head, I know I should have done more this weekend.”
Andrea Stella, a Formula One veteran who has worked with superstars such as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, praised Norris’ candor but cautioned him against being too hard on himself.
He praised Norris’s dedication to candor and transparency, not only in his dealings with others but also in his self-evaluation.
Stella emphasized the importance of balancing self-criticism and self-motivation, saying, “Lando is such an honest person.
“He maintains this honesty in all relationships, including the one with himself.”
“You need to find the right balance and dynamics in terms of communication to the world and communication to yourself to put yourself in a position to perform today and to improve every day.”
“So even how harsh he was on himself after qualifying, particularly on Friday, will be scrutinized.”
“This review will take place once more, very honestly, and he will calibrate over time to see if I really have to be with myself?” What is the goal here?
“There’s a bit of a journey, which is for Lando, it will be for Oscar, and is for each of us in the team.”
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