"Just consistency" - Lando Norris on his areas for improvement heading into 2022 F1 season

Lando Norris has revealed he needs to be more consistent on track if he is to improve as an F1 driver. The McLaren driver had a breakthrough year in 2021 but paid the price for some unwarranted errors on his part.

The 22-year-old bagged four podiums for McLaren in 2021. He, however, missed out on an all-but-certain win in Russia after gambling with his tires during a period of rain late in the Grand Prix.

Speaking to the media after the first round of pre-season testing in Barcelona, the Briton shared his thoughts, saying:

“What do I want to learn from myself and extract from myself to do a better job than last season? From the outside, the more basic things are really just consistency. I took a very good step from two years ago to last season and to not have these little mistakes that were very costly, let’s say the one with the Ferrari and Carlos [Sainz] in Brazil.”

The McLaren man went on to add, saying:

“Obviously, the last two races [in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi] were punctures but there were just a couple of things along the way which led me to not scoring points maybe when I should have done and it was maybe only on two occasions or so. But a few when maybe I was eighth and I should have finished sixth or fifth, so consistency.”

---

Additional weight has made F1 2022 cars sluggish, according to McLaren's Lando Norris

Lando Norris feels the next generation of F1 cars are 'more sluggish' than their predecessors. He reasoned it out as a result of the rule changes for the increased minimum weight.

The minimum weight of the 2022 F1 cars has risen to 795 kilos, a sizeable increase from the mandated 752 kilos in 2021.

Despite setting a relatively rapid time in comparison to others during pre-season testing in Barcelona, Lando Norris felt the cars could be even quicker. When asked by the media to share his thoughts on them, the Briton said:

“The weight makes a massive difference for just the driving, how the car reacts. It’s a lot heavier than it was last season. So, it just feels a bit slower, a bit more sluggish. It’s like running with the race fuel of last season before almost a qualifying lap in a way. You do feel it in like the braking and certain areas. The performance is not quite the same. But it shouldn’t be too long [to adjust] and I think by the end of the day, you’re a little bit more used to it and it feels almost normal again.”

Norris and McLaren now have their eyes trained firmly on the next round of pre-season testing that will commence on March 10 in Bahrain. This will be followed by the start of the 2022 F1 season on March 20.