Lando Norris 'got help' to overcome F1 'killer'

Lando Norris has been applauded for obtaining the help he required to address what is viewed as a "killer" in Formula 1 that allowed him to go on and become champion.

Norris captured the title in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, denying Max Verstappen a historic fifth consecutive drivers' championship by just two points, with the British driver's McLaren team-mate, Oscar Piastri, a further 11 points adrift.

The 26-year-old revealed after the race at the Yas Marina Circuit that this year, after a difficult start to the season, despite initially winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, he had expanded his team around him to help overcome the issues he was facing.

"I've had to go above and beyond in terms of expanding my group, the people I work with on the track, and more so off the track," said Norris.

"The number of people that I have in my corner, not from McLaren but externally: my friends, my family, my coaches, people that help me think in better ways and perform in better ways."

Those people came to Norris' aid, notably after he retired from the Dutch Grand Prix, a result that pitched him 34 points adrift of Piastri at that stage.

Norris then turned a corner and slowly worked his way back into the title fight, battling not only Piastri but also Verstappen as the Red Bull driver staged an astonishing run after the summer break during which he scored a podium in every race, including six wins.

Damon Hill, the 1996 champion, believes Norris had to dig "very deep", helped by those additional people in his corner.

Speaking on the BBC's Chequered Flag podcast, Hill said: "He was very much the incumbent. That was his home. He was adopted by McLaren, with Zak Brown showing him off to me and the world when he signed him [in 2017].

"And he was tiny. He was tiny. He looked like a schoolboy. It was ridiculous. I literally said to him, 'Are you going to be big enough to drive one of these things eventually?' Of course, he's filled out a bit now.

"He's had to find in himself the extra gear, the extra level, because he was put in the shade by this new arrival in Oscar Piastri.

"In those moments, you have doubt, and doubt is a killer. In our sport, you cannot have doubts.

"But he got help. He got the right people around him, but he had to do that himself. He had to look at himself in the mirror and go, 'Okay, what are you going to do now to find more? Because you're going to need it. This guy's good. Oscar is very good, and he's going to cause trouble'.

"So he did respond, and because he responded, he's now a world champion."