Lando Norris on 2021 F1 form, nerve-wracking starts and racing from the front

The 21-year-old heads into the British Grand Prix this weekend – the 10th race of a 23-race season – on a fine perch, fourth in the driver standings with more points to his name already than in either of his first two seasons. He has split the Mercedes drivers and is just one result away from driving a wedge between the Red Bulls as well.

We chatted to Norris in 2019 following his debut season in F1, about the frustrations of feeling he was racing on a different circuit to the big boys, getting no better view of them than viewers 1000s of miles away around the world.

Now he is deep into his third campaign and the British star is producing consistently mature performances to cement his place among the hottest contenders on the grid.

RadioTimes.com checked in with Norris ahead of his return to Silverstone to discuss his increasingly commanding form, mental battles he has fought along the way and how his relationship with teammate Daniel Ricciardo has affected his racing in 2021.

"It feels awesome. It's a great feeling for myself in the car, being in that position, knowing you're fighting for third place is cool. It's definitely different to fighting for fifth or 10th. And I feel good because there are more chances than ever to be in that position.

"We are still a little bit off Mercedes and Red Bull, but knowing that we have these chances every now and then, when things come together and go our way, we can be there. It feels cool to just race against drivers which I've not actually raced against for the past three years.

"You're racing against some of the best drivers in Formula 1 like Lewis [Hamilton] and Max [Verstappen]. It's definitely a bit different, but it's a good feeling."

It's not all good times and blistering speed though. Norris walked us through his headspace before any given race, the near-weekly ritual, the literal split seconds that could so easily dictate his emotions for the week to come.

"It's very nerve-racking just sitting there. In the last weekend I was going off second place, from the front row, which means I'm sitting there for quite a long time as everyone else comes onto the grid.

"A lot of it is making sure I did all the right procedures beforehand, making sure I'm in the right buttons and switches and I'm not gonna have a problem getting off the line. Then I have to do my launch procedure, get the revs in the perfect zone, get my clutch in a perfect drop and really focus on nailing that initially. That all happens very quickly.

"You're looking at the lights. You're wanting to react. You check where everyone is ahead of you, behind you, to the left and right, sometimes they're in your blind spots and you can't see them. It's very tricky to put yourself always in the correct position and it's so easy to leave too much room or be too close to drivers because they can come out of nowhere at different speeds.

"You position your car into turn one but seeing people come past you and whatever, it's not an easy position to be in. Then those lights come on, going 1-2-3-4-5 then out and so quickly things go from maybe looking at the fans, seeing a British flag, then suddenly you are racing and one small mistake, one curb or being slightly out of position and it can be game over and you can crash out.

"It's quite a contrast but it's definitely one of the best feelings that you get."

Norris opened up on battles with nerves and anxiety following an intense first season on the grid in a November 2020 blog post. He says the response to sharing his thoughts has been overwhelmingly positive and is determined to continue to speak out for good.

McLaren are partnered with mental health charity Mind, and the British youngster is keen to use his own platform to help fans who may turn to him for inspiration.

"The mental health side of things is something I struggled a lot with, especially in my first year of Formula 1 with the pressure and the nerves and social media and things like that.

"That's why I thought it was a good opportunity for me to speak openly about it. It went down really well. I get a lot of comments, messages, saying how things I've said or things I do has helped people out a lot because they're going through tough times, especially with COVID.

"A lot of unfortunate people couldn't go out and do their jobs, we could go and do our racing, but they had to stay at home, couldn't go see their families or their friends and stuff.

"It's cool because I was a nobody, years ago, now I can have this positive impact on people, I can help people. It's something you don't often think about. I want to be a driver, like that's always the dream, but then it's knowing I can be a driver who has this impact on people and help people out, to make them feel better, I'm definitely glad I opened up and spoke about things publicly."

Norris is a regular on social media, frequently delighting his fans with glimpses behind the curtain and he's an active member of the Twitch community with almost a million followers who tune in to watch his latest gaming exploits.

Fans grew to adore his connection with former teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. who has since moved to Ferrari, to be replaced by the wily figure of ex-Renault man Daniel Ricciardo – but how has the vibe shifted between the pair?

"It's always competitive between teammates. We get on well, we still have good laughs every now and then, doing fun interviews and things. It's different to Carlos [Sainz], my old teammate, just a different vibe, because Dan is a bit older and has a lot more experience within Formula 1 but there's a lot of things I've been able to learn from him.

"In some areas he's very good, particularly good, and I learn from that throughout every race weekend in these areas where he's very strong.

"He's taking his time to get up to speed and to learn the car and know how to drive it but it's not like he's bad in every area, some areas he's still very strong in. We still push each other and want to beat each other all the time."

Norris is flying along in the 2021 campaign with a 61-point and four-place gap over Ricciardo in the driver standings, and he's relishing every moment, while still striving for more.

"I definitely feel different in terms of experience and confidence. I feel a more settled and even more at home than than ever before. A lot of hard work and time and effort has gone into looking at those past few years, learning my weaknesses and strengths, and obviously working on my weaknesses, primarily.

"I've tried to come back this year as a better driver: more complete, more confident, more consistent, the consistency side has been one of the biggest things this season. I feel that every time I'm going out, I know what I want to achieve, what the goal is for every session and how to achieve it.

"I'm clearer-minded from that side of it, but it doesn't mean I always do the best job. I still made mistakes this year and done things I shouldn't have done and made some wrong decisions. I've changed in many areas but the biggest one is putting that hard work and time and effort into it over the winter and all the way through this year.

"And not getting complacent, you know, not being happy with fifth in the first race but I kept plugging away trying to make improvements."

You can watch Norris eyeing up Silverstone glory in the British Grand Prix this weekend.

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