“Chill out,” Lando Norris confesses McLaren had to calm him down during battle with Max Verstappen

Lando Norris spilled the beans on the role his engineers played during his intense battle with Max Verstappen at the Australian GP.

“Chill out,” Lando Norris confesses McLaren had to calm him down during battle with Max Verstappen

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull content pool)

Max Verstappen came extremely close to ousting Lando Norris from the top spot at the Australian GP. Despite leading the majority of the race in a superior chassis Norris couldn’t keep the Dutchman at bay with ease. The Briton committed multiple errors which caused the competition to close up towards the end. Now, after winning the race, the 25-year-old revealed that his engineer had to calm him down during the battle.

McLaren’s 2025 challenger seems to excel in tire degradation over the races which helped Lando Norris maintain his lead. Norris even accepted that the battle for the race victory towards the end of the race was ‘stressful’. The Briton now revealed his race engineer’s role during the race that helped him cement his lead and ultimately the victory.

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Norris pointed out that Will Joseph, his race engineer came on the team radio and asked him to calm down after he committed a mistake on track. Moreover, Andrew ‘Jarv’ Jarvis, the Briton’s performance engineer also had to chime in. The engineer made him wary of the situation and asked him to not commit certain mistakes in his battle against Max Verstappen. The 25-year-old’s crew is well versed with his driving and hence decided to help him emerge victorious in the race.

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Even Will came on the radio and told me to chill out a bit. He knows, and Jarv, my performance engineer, knows very quickly from my driving when I’m pushing too much or when I’m pushing the entries too much. They’re quick to jump in and say, ‘Do this better’ or ‘Watch out for that’ because they know what I struggle with. Especially in a situation like that.

Lando Norris said, as reported by GPblog.

Lando Norris reveals the area where he ‘improved’ on in the 2025 season

Lando Norris committed multiple major blunders in the 2024 season that ultimately cost him the championship victory back then. The Briton however seems prepared to take on the title battle against Max Verstappen this season. Norris highlighted that he faced a ‘new situation’ towards the end of the Australian GP.

Lando Norris
Lando Norris (via XPB images)

Norris asserted that he had never led a race with just five laps to go and Verstappen right behind him ready to take the lead. The 25-year-old reckoned that the Dutchman was rather experienced in such battles due to his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton in the past. The Briton insisted that he was delighted to get through to the end and remain calm during such intense moments. Hence, he believed that this was a particular area where he improved since last year.

That situation was new for me. I’ve never led a race with five laps to go with Max behind me, trying to put me under pressure, in these conditions. Maybe Max has had that a few times – he’s raced against Lewis a lot and can deal with it better than I can. For me, it was a first. So, it was about seeing how I handled it when I got there. I’m happy I got through it and stayed calm. It’s something I improved from last year.

Lando Norris added.

Can Lando Norris continue the winning streak at the Chinese GP?

The second race of the 2025 season is set to be ran around the Chinese circuit. Lando Norris has only participated in the Chinese GP once in the previous season. The Briton put forth an impressive performance back then and finished in P2 right behind Max Verstappen. As a result, the 25-year-old’s winning chances at the upcoming race seem very high.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)

Oscar Piastri has also provided a tough competition to Norris for race wins since McLaren rose in performance. The Ausse previously revealed that he was prepared to fight with his teammate hard for race wins. Moreover, even Mercedes and Max Verstappen seem to join the battle for the race victory contention in the 2025 season.

Norris must work hard on his performance and keep up with similar if not better results. The Briton must not commit any mistakes in the race to ensure that he maximizes his winning chances. The 2025 season is set to put forth some highly interesting situation for the teams and the race drivers. Hence, time will tell about how the season pans out for the 25-year-old in his maiden championship ambitions against Verstappen.