Rosberg warns Norris over 'mistake' in F1 title goal

2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg has issued words of advice to Lando Norris ahead of the new campaign.

Norris ended the 2024 season as the runner-up in the drivers' standings, with his late-season surge on Verstappen in the standings falling short.

However, the Briton ended the year on a high with a victory in Abu Dhabi that sealed McLaren the constructors' championship.

A joyful Norris quipped over the team radio after taking the chequered flag: “Next year is going to be my year too.”

Rosberg has warned Norris against setting his expectations too high for himself, stating it puts unnecessary pressure on his shoulders.

“One, do not make the mistake and start building yourself towards ‘I am the favourite, everything else but winning is going to be a failure’,” Rosberg told the Sky F1 podcast.

“On the one hand, we love to see it as spectators but for him, it’s probably not the best path.

“In Abu Dhabi on the cooldown lap he said in the car, ‘next year is my year’ - that’s something that I would actually recommend him not to do.

“It’s just an unnecessary pressure expectation dynamic that you kick-off. If you want, do it internally, whatever, but not externally.

“That was one of the keys to me winning my world championship, and especially for someone like Lando, who is, I would say, not the very, very strongest, most settled mentally – I was that profile, a lot of inner demons and doubts, and always glass [half] empty, rather than glass [half] full – and therefore, for him, I really highly recommend that he would take it race by race.”

Rosberg issues 'race-by-race' advice

McLaren ended the season with the strongest car and claimed its first constructors' championship in 26 years.

It marked an astonishing turnaround for the Woking-based squad who began the 2023 campaign competing towards the rear of the field.

With the regulations going through no changes ahead of the new year, McLaren is expected to fight at the front from the opening round.

As he seeks to claim his maiden F1 title, Norris has been advised by Rosberg to take the season race-by-race rather than focusing on the championship from the opening round.

“Melbourne he’s going there because he wants to win the race, and then the one after you win the race, but not go ‘champion, champion, that’s all that matters’,” the former Mercedes driver said.

“That is something I would highly recommend, because it just decompresses everything, takes the expectation out, takes the pressure out, reduces the load.

“It’s super important, because being the favourite for a championship, and then immersing yourself into that vibe of, ‘yeah, I’m the favourite’, it just such a high-pressure situation, which you want to avoid as much as possible.”