Formula 1 Dutch GP
Lando Norris reflects on his biggest 2025 mistakes: "Don’t try to be a hero"
Norris opened up on nature of taking risks in his F1 title battle with McLaren team-mate Piastri
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Aug 28, 2025, 2:55 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris has insisted he has no regrets when reflecting on the opening 14 races of his 2025 Formula 1 title campaign, though has picked out moments in China and Canada where he could have been "a little bit smarter".
Of the two, his Canada clash with team-mate Oscar Piastri is the more obvious one; Norris had been frustrated as an attempt to pass on the exit of Montreal's hairpin had come to nothing - and he made the wrong decision when trying to thread his McLaren down the inside of a rapidly closing gap on the start-finish straight.
Norris also pointed to sprint qualifying in China, where he locked up at the final hairpin on his last lap of the session and aborted his lap - one he believes would have yielded pole for the Saturday race.
Although Norris was keen to point out that he did not regret those moments, stating that they offered learning opportunities, in retrospect he felt that he needed to tell himself 'don't try and be a hero' in the moment.
"Could I have, at times, made maybe better decisions? I think so," Norris said in the prelude to the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
"The main one was China sprint qualifying; I think my lap was good enough for pole until the final hairpin where I locked up. If I'd had that thought probably just before braking – 'it's a long season, don't try and be a hero' – then I would have finished it. I lost eight points there.
"And if I go back to Canada, if I could rerun that and just be a little bit smarter and not take so much risk, could I have not lost quite a few points there? Yes.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
"I wouldn't say I regret those moments. I mean, do I wish it changed and do I wish it was better? Do I wish I could maybe do it again? Yeah, but at the same time I don't regret making those decisions at the time because I think that's me, that's life, and that's the way it goes.
"Sometimes it goes your way and you get lucky, sometimes it goes the other way and you don't make the best decisions, but those are also the times you quite often learn the most and help yourself more for the future.
"I think for me in my life, I would say I live it more by not regretting what I've done, more trying to learn and improve from that point onwards."
Norris elaborated on the management risks involved, particularly when battling with a team-mate for a Formula 1 title.
He explained that both he and Piastri were well aware of the balance between risk and reward - adding that perhaps both drivers have undersold themselves on track when choosing not to take risk.
"I think that's something that probably for a while we've been doing already," Norris explained.
"As much as we want to win races and get into second or third at times, and probably at some little points could have taken more risks, I think for a little while now we've probably understood that risk element more.
Read Also:
Formula 1What sets McLaren apart in F1 2025, explained by Max Verstappen
Formula 1McLaren banks Mastercard as 2026 F1 naming partner
"I think we know when we need to take it, like qualifying, and we also know during a race, maybe for one more point, you might not risk anything.
"But for the win you would risk more, and who you're racing also is quite an important factor of it all. That's part of being a racing driver – you've got to understand who you can take risks with, who you can't, when to take this risk and when not to.
"I think you have to understand that a little bit more when you start fighting for a championship. Like from the question at the beginning: if I could go back and change what I did in China, not take that risk, I would probably do it.
"I probably wasn't quite on top of everything and as thoughtful as I probably needed to be so early on in the championship season. But I've learned from that, and I make better decisions now."
Photos from Dutch GP - Thursday
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Dutch GP - Thursday, in photos
Formula 1
59
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Kimi Antonelli was at risk at Mercedes for F1 2026, George Russell claims
Next article Fernando Alonso backs Alex Palou’s F1 credentials as Chip Ganassi blasts "clickbait" rumours
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
5 d
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
More from
Lando Norris
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 16 h
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
More from
McLaren
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
4 d
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Latest news
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
5 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 9 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe