Lando Norris delivers 'in control' declaration as maiden F1 title looms

Lando Norris has asserted that he feels more “in control” behind the wheel of his McLaren car as he closes in on a maiden F1 title.

Norris currently holds a 24-point gap over team-mate Oscar Piastri with three rounds remaining in the campaign.

Prior to his two-race win streak in Mexico and Brazil, Norris was 14 points down on Piastri, who led the championship for much of the year before enduring a recent blip in form. 

With the title battle entering its final stages, Norris declared his current level of comfort is a challenging status to maintain. 

“I don't know what the points swing was prior to Brazil and then post Brazil, or even if you say prior to Mexico and then post Brazil, [but] it was a lot of points,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.

“And I feel like I've very much been on top of a lot of things the last few weekends, but it's a very difficult level to perform at all the time.

“I have incredible drivers that I'm up against. My expectation and for myself is to try and perform at the same level, but that's not always a guarantee.”

Norris has already suffered significant setbacks this year, most prominently with a race-ending mistake in Canada and a power unit failure at the Dutch Grand Prix.

While the 26-year-old declared he is now more comfortable behind the wheel compared to earlier in the year, he asserted it is not a guaranteed route to success.

“I know that it can also just change very quickly,” he said. 

“Whether it's because you get unlucky or whether you're not performing at the perfect level and the guys I'm up against can perform at that high level. 

“Things can change very easily. Of course, I feel maybe a little bit more in control, but at the same time, you're not in control of any of these situations. 

“I'm not thinking of it apart from just going out and taking one session at a time, maximising FP1, then FP2.  

“As long as I treat it like that, I don't feel like I'm in a different position than I was in Brazil. 

“So from the exterior, it's clear that it looks that way, but inside, I think it's treated as completely normal and just keep going as I am.”