Lando Norris is experiencing a new pressure in Formula 1 this season as he is consistently battling for race victories.
The British driver has spent much of his time in F1 in the midfield since making his debut with McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix in 2019.
Norris has been consistently quick in Formula 1 and scored his first podium at the Austrian Grand Prix a year later.
He has been pushed by his teammate Oscar Piastri, who got the upper hand in some wheel-to-wheel situations such as the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris is now competing at the sharp end and had an opportunity to fight for his first world championship before a drive full of errors at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
His title hopes are very slim with three rounds to go, and former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner told Der Formel 1-News-Kanal what Norris needs to do to beat Piastri in 2025.
Guenther Steiner told Lando Norris he needs to do ‘mental work’ to beat Oscar Piastri at McLaren
Norris has been very impressive at times this season as he took his first Grand Prix victory in Miami although he got a slice of luck with the timing of a Safety Car.
The McLaren driver was also dominant at the Dutch Grand Prix and in Singapore but got away with small errors in both races.
He has consistently made mistakes that have cost him points on the track and in the pit lane. Norris may need to be more relaxed next season to fight for a title.
As the British driver has been getting away with errors, Piastri has been ice-cool and slowly developed his race pace over the year.
The Australian impressively took victory in Azerbaijan while defending from Charles Leclerc which became his second win in F1.
READ MORE: Zak Brown tells Lando Norris what he must stop doing if he wants to beat Max Verstappen
Steiner explained that Norris’ approach may need to be refined heading into the new season to reach his teammate’s level of mental toughness.
He said: “He doesn’t have to learn to drive he has enough talent to be fast he has to build up a mental strength that he can deal with it because it think it will be tight in the team with Oscar Piastri.
“Oscar Piastri is also a good racing driver and if the beginning of the year is strong then it will be difficult internally for Lando.
“That’s why he definitely has to do a lot of mental work over the winter because Oscar is mentally very strong.”
Lando Norris may also need to improve his decisiveness in wheel-to-wheel combat
Norris has lost a significant number of points this season while battling other cars, which has contributed to his faltering title challenge at McLaren.
He collided with Verstappen in Austria and received a five-second time penalty while battling the Dutchman more recently at the United States Grand Prix.
The margins are so fine at the front of the field that battling other cars on track is critical, particularly in Formula 1, where overtaking is difficult.
Verstappen has built a reputation for being a very difficult to pass which gives him a slight advantage in combat on the track.
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