Lando Norris Dismisses F1 Start Criticism: ‘Stats Don’t Mean a Lot

Lando Norris defends himself against criticism regarding his F1 starts: “Statistics aren't everything”

Lando Norris has addressed the negative comments about his starting performance in F1, as reported by Connor McDonagh from Zandvoort.

Lando Norris has responded to critiques about his weak starts in Formula 1, arguing that the discussions have been blown out of proportion when considering the season as a whole.

Norris secured the top spot for the upcoming F1 Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday with an impressive lap, outpacing Max Verstappen by more than half a second.

The McLaren racer is eager to turn his recent pole position into his second win of the season.

During the FIA press conference at Zandvoort, which was attended by various media outlets including Crash.net, Norris expressed a desire to minimize the discussion surrounding his lackluster starts.

"I clearly need to be in front going into Turn 1," he remarked. "I understand that my starts haven't been my strongest point lately… although, to be fair, they haven't been terrible."

"I've consistently ranked among the top starting positions, though I've had a few races where I didn't perform as well. Overall, my season might look worse than it actually was, but there were just a few instances where my starts weren't ideal, even when I was positioned in the front row."

“As I mentioned earlier, there hasn't been a specific reason; it's varied each time. However, I am confident that I've worked hard to improve my starts, and I'm looking forward to a fresh start tomorrow.”

A concerning statistic for Norris is that in the five instances he has secured pole position or started at the front in his F1 career, he has never maintained the lead at the end of the first lap.

In Sochi in 2021, he fell behind Carlos Sainz, and during the Sao Paulo sprint race, Verstappen moved ahead.

The situation mirrored in the China sprint, where Lewis Hamilton managed to pass him.

George Russell overtook both Norris and Verstappen during the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

In Hungary, Oscar Piastri's progress came at a higher price.

Nevertheless, Norris dismissed the statistics concerning his streak of disappointing starts from pole position.

“Frankly, statistics don’t hold much significance for me,” he remarked. “While stats can earn you respect or cause you to lose it, they’re just figures displayed on a screen and don’t carry much weight from my viewpoint. Naturally, I do care about them, but they don’t have a significant influence on me.”

"The things people write and create are varied. It’s similar to awards for overtaking in racing – you’re more likely to overtake more cars if you start with a poor qualifying position, which gives you more opportunities to move up. I've started near the front many times, and I’m aware that my statistics for maintaining those positions aren’t great; more often than not, I’ve ended up losing positions rather than holding them. But that's just the way it is."

"I’ve put in a lot of effort so far and continue to work diligently to make a difference. However, it doesn’t bother me. I’m not planning to go out tomorrow just to prove others wrong. I’ll simply keep moving forward and focus on my own tasks."

"Individuals are free to express their views and opinions. Many of these remarks are accurate and valid to different people, but I focus on leveraging them to my benefit and working on my areas of improvement, plain and simple."

Explore Further

Recent Updates

Recent Updates

Site Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce text, photographs, or illustrations, either fully or partially, in any manner.