NICO ROSBERG QUESTIONS ‘GLASS HALF-EMPTY’ ATTITUDE OF MCLAREN’S LANDO NORRIS

Having previously offered to help Lando Norris with his “mental performance”, Nico Rosberg has again stated the Briton needs “more positivity” rather than betting against his own success.

Norris joined the Red Bull team-mates on the podium in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, the McLaren driver splitting them as he brought his MCL38 home in second place.

Lando Norris bet against himself at the Chinese GP

It was a result that surprised many, Norris included.

“I just wasn’t expecting that at all,” said the 24-year-old. “I got everything ready to go home early and not be on the podium so it’s a pleasant surprise.”

It was so unexpected that Norris even bet against himself, revealing: “I made a bet about how far behind the Ferraris we would finish. I thought 35 seconds.”

But while he was happy to be proven wrong, his attitude had 2016 World Champion Rosberg shaking his head.

“Lando is little bit a glass-half-empty guy,” the former F1 driver told Sky Sports.

“Pre-race betting that Ferrari are going to beat them? I don’t know, I don’t think that’s the best approach in general. I think more positivity would be helpful.

“Nevertheless, he had a phenomenal drive, he drove so well. Certainly together with Max, the best driver of the day easily.

“The consistency, there was no degradation on his car which was amazing to see. The comparison to his team-mate Oscar Piastri who was really struggling with degradation. Big difference there, big delta. So a phenomenal drive.”

“I think that’s Lando dry British sense of humour,” Damon Hill said to that.

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The 1996 World Champion went on to praise Norris, saying he was surprised by how close he was able to run the Red Bulls, splitting the team-mates at the chequered flag.

And with McLaren introducing an upgraded package at the next race in Miami, Hill says it could get “interesting”.

“He did a great job,” he said.

“I was surprised that his pace was so close in a way to Red Bulls and they’ve got upgrades coming from Miami so I think it’s going to be really interesting.”

Rosberg too was “extremely surprised. From a couple of laps into each stint the delta was to Ferrari just opened up, like Leclerc had no chance behind him.

“And Lando, in fact, was right on a par or even a little bit quicker than Sergio Perez as you saw at the end there.

“In the beginning it was like a two-second gap and then at the end there was a five-second gap. So he really even opened up the gap to Sergio Perez.”

Norris is P5 in the Drivers’ Championship with 55 points, 55 behind Verstappen, while McLaren are third in the Constructors’.

2024-04-22T06:49:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd