Lando Norris‘s habit of being hard on himself has got people talking this season, and his old friend Carlos Sainz has some interesting thoughts about it.
Sainz, who used to share the McLaren garage with Norris, was asked how he compares to his former teammate’s self-criticism and Max Verstappen‘s famous confidence.
“What you see isn’t always what you get with drivers,” Sainz explained. “We can definitely control how people see us from the outside.”
The Ferrari ace thinks there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
“Lando tends to show more of his real self, while Max might keep things closer to the chest – though I’m not saying he’s putting on an act,” he said.
When it comes to his own approach, Sainz isn’t quite sure where he falls between his two rivals.
“I might be somewhere in the middle, but honestly, it’s hard to say. You’ve got to be careful with these comparisons because drivers are pretty good at managing their public image,” he admitted.
The debate about Norris’s mindset got even more attention after Red Bull’s Helmut Marko suggested the young Brit might not have the mental toughness to become world champion.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s confidence seems well-placed – he’s crushing it in the championship and could wrap up his fourth title in Las Vegas.
It’s a striking contrast between two of F1’s brightest young stars, and it shows just how much the mental game matters at the top level of motorsport.
