Lando Norris on family sacrifices, proving himself wrong and how Monaco lap made him cry

Norris says he’s “seen a lot of photos over the last 12 hours; a lot of little me”.

One of them is of him doing donuts in a kart when he was still a small boy. What would he tell little Lando if he could talk to him now?

“Probably just to have a bit more belief in myself,” he says, “because it’s something I never really had when I was younger. It’s something I always lacked.

“In that video, I was so small. I was never the big kid or never the aggressive one, that kind of thing. I’m still the same, I think, now. I would just get my elbows out a little bit more. That’s probably my only thing.”

This sort of vulnerability is Norris’ trademark. It was evident after the race, too, when he said he was “proud that I’ve proved myself wrong”.

I ask what he meant, and he says it was a reference to his difficult first part of the season, when his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took the initiative, and the championship lead, and had won four races before Norris had taken his second.

By the time of the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, Piastri had a 34-point lead over Norris and seemed a certain bet for the title, only for Norris to rally and overhaul it all.

“When Oscar was doing a better job than me and I wasn’t doing a great job, I was like, ‘Well, you know, maybe they’re just a bit better. Maybe they can just be more consistent, get more out of the car,'” Norris says.

“I just never thought at times that it was possible. So for me to then do that for myself, to kind of go, ‘You’re wrong, you can do it,’ is a pretty incredible feeling to have for yourself.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a very selfish person, but I’ve also learned at times I almost have to be more selfish with some of these feelings and thoughts. I need that to almost make me a better and stronger driver.

“It’s just nice to almost make myself have more confidence. But I often only do that when I prove it to myself. I’ve always had that thought of, ‘Oh, the next step is such a big leap. Am I ever going to be able to perform at the level I need to perform at?’ I have more doubts than positive thoughts at those times.

“But I’ve also changed a lot this season. I also feel through the year I’ve been able to be in a much better place, be a lot more confident in myself, change my whole approach and mentality.”