Lando Norris admits he’s given up alcohol in his bid to become the Formula 1 world champion. The McLaren driver is among the favourites to land the title and admits he “can’t afford” to dabble in partying.
Norris is now a multiple race winner following his breakthrough in Miami – which is nearly 12 months ago. The F1 grid will head to Florida in less than a fortnight and upon their visit their last year the McLaren driver made unwanted headlines after cutting his nose whilst partying.
He suffered a facial injury while partying in the Amsterdam. He cut his nose on broken glass during the Koningsdag (King’s Day) celebrations in the Dutch capital during a rare week off and had to don a bandage on his nose – images of which went viral on social media.
Back then Norris wasn’t in a title fight but now is firmly in the picture and, whilst he admits he’d love to enjoy a drink with his pals, he has had to up his discipline given the nature of his challenge and the calibre of those he’s competing against.
He told Viaplay: “I would have loved to go again because it was one of the best days of my life. And last time, I won in Miami straight afterwards. I miss all my friends. I had a good week in Amsterdam with Martin [Garrix, DJ], but I’m fighting for the World Championship now.
“I can’t afford to do that now. I have to go back home and train. The [Jeddah] race was physically demanding and I’d like to have a drink now. But I haven’t had a single drink all year and I’m proud of that. I just have to keep working hard and can’t go out and party. I’m competing against the best in the world here – Max [Verstappen], Oscar, Charles [Leclerc] and George [Russell]. If I make even the slightest mistake, I have to pay for it immediately.”
Norris won the season opener in Australia but has been unable to stand on the top step of the podium since with several errors costing him in the weeks since. He finished fourth in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a crash in qualifying all but ruling him out of a race win before Sunday.
He’s seen team-mate Oscar Piastri win three races already this season with the Australian cutting a cool figure as he held off Max Verstappen in Jeddah. That has sent the McLaren driver to the top of the standings as he makes the most of the pace of the car underneath him.
Norris only finished off the podium for the first time in Saudi Arabia but by his own admission has struggled at times, particularly in qualifying. He called himself an “idiot” after his recent crash and later said: “I should be fighting for pole and especially on a Q1 [sic] lap I shouldn’t be taking any silly risks like I seem to have done. I’m going to review it all, like I said.”
The Brit has also confessed: “It’s when I perform well, when I’m having fun, and I’m relaxed. I’m probably putting too much pressure on myself at the minute.”
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