Lando Norris believes he is better prepared than ever to deal with the rigours of a Formula One season as he bids to clinch his first drivers’ championship.
The 25-year-old pushed Max Verstappen over the second half of last campaign but the Dutchman held on to his early advantage to claim a fourth successive title.
McLaren, by their own admission, currently boast the best car in the sport and have taken victory at the first two races of the season – Norris winning in Melbourne before Oscar Piastri led a one-two for the team in China.
This weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, where Norris was beaten to pole by Verstappen, kicks off a triple-header – with Bahrain next up before a trip to Saudi Arabia.
Norris says he has learned how to prepare himself mentally and physically for the challenges of a 24-race season and is confident he can handle whatever is thrown at him.
“I am making sure that I’m just as fit and mentally focused now as I will be in race 24 of the season,” Norris said.
“I feel more on top of all of these aspects than I ever have, so I’m more ready, able to recover better and recover quicker and all of those things.
“There’s a lot more than simply just driving the car quickly.
“I have a very good team around me, who I work with a lot to figure out these things and know how I work best.
“I’ve got my trainer who works with me from two sides, the mental and the physical side of things, both of which kind of start with sleep.
“But then also just the food, hydration, the recovery. Recovery is a big part of, not just the triple-header, but the whole season.”
Norris came out of the first two races of the season in the championship lead for the first time in his career.
But the British driver believes he now has the experience to shut out the noise.
“I forgot (about it) to be honest. I just love my life outside of Formula One as well,” Norris added.
“I don’t go around thinking ‘I’m leading the championship’. I don’t know, it just has no effect on me.
“I just like to go out sometimes and be with my friends and forget about the life in Formula One.
“I think I’m good at being able to turn off and distract myself and do other things, play a bit of golf and whatever.
“It is something I’ve learned with the experience of being in F1, it’s a way I know I work better is by having my time off.
“Even last year and the year before, I struggled a lot more to disconnect myself and I kind of get into those holes where all I would possibly do is think about how bad the weekend went or why you’re so good with this.
“And that was just having a very big negative effect on my mood and wellbeing, just in normal life, when it shouldn’t.”
