Lando Norris rejects mental weakness claims with striking admission

Lando Norris has insisted it would be "even harder" for him not to express his unfiltered emotions to the press, despite frequent concern over the impact his approach to media duties has on his mental wellbeing and performance on track.

The Briton leads the F1 drivers' championship by three points from Oscar Piastri after the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the weekend in Sakhir saw the re-emergence of Norris' disparaging self, in particular after chastising himself for his poor qualifying performance.

In the past, such self-flagellation has caught the attention of many in the media, including former F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Martin Brundle, who have voiced their disquiet over what affect it might be having on the McLaren driver - both on and off the asphalt.

Some have even gone as far as to interpret it as psychological weakness, to the detriment of his F1 career. However, when asked if it was important not to spiral into a negative frame of mind, the five-time grand prix winner maintained he can separate his public persona from his private thoughts.

"The thing is, I think it would be even harder for me to not show any of these things," Norris told media including RacingNews365.

"A lot of this is – when I do my interviews and whatever – a lot of it is probably just getting my frustration out. It’s just because of not achieving what I want to achieve. It’s because of my desire to do well and my ambition to win.

"When I know what I can do and what I’m capable of, and I’m not even close to reaching that – like [in qualifying] – I’m very disappointed in myself. That’s just the way I am. I’m just so hungry to win and I work so hard to win.

"When it doesn’t go my way, and when I mess up myself, then I’m very disappointed in myself. But during the interviews and saying things I do, I don’t think necessarily have a bad impact on myself negatively. I’ve done it so much my whole life, I’ve learned how to block my own comments away from my thoughts."

For Norris, it was undoubtedly a difficult weekend in Sakhir, one that got away from him as Piastri seized the momentum in their intra-team battle.

Whilst his McLaren team-mate took pole, fastest lap and victory at the Bahrain International Circuit, the 25-year-old could only recover from sixth on the grid to third after a messy drive on Sunday.

He admitted his self-critical nature may have "limited" him in the past, but Norris was nevertheless adamant he simply needs to rediscover his flow ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

"Maybe sometimes I lack a bit of self-belief, and I have done in the past," Norris conceded. "But this is just also me.

"It’s the way I do things, it’s the way I work, it’s what has made me as good as I am, and probably maybe at times has limited me from becoming a better driver.

"But, like I said, I know what I can do and I’m happy. I think what I can do and what I can achieve is good enough and easily up there with the best. So I just need to get back in that rhythm.

"And yes, maybe sometimes I’m too hard on myself – like [after qualifying]. But I came back after a nice sleep, re-energised, new day and good to go again and put up a good fight, which I felt like I kind of did.

"So, you know, this was one day. Today was a new day, and I have a few days off now to recover and go again."