The McLaren driver, who almost won the recent Russian Grand Prix, says the smiley face and cheerful image he has carried around his entire career doesn’t tell the true story of his feelings that he felt a few years ago would have.
And he says the doubts that crossed his mind during his rookie campaign about whether or not he was good enough for F1 had a huge impact on him.
Speaking live on ITV’s This Morning show, Norris explained how the reality of what drivers go through behind the scenes can be a world apart from what fans believe they are experiencing.
“I guess if people just watch TV they don’t realize a lot of the things a driver goes through,” he said.
“And it’s a bit of a shame, but there are now more programs in which you can see what the driver is like behind the scenes and how much pressure and stress he has to deal with.
“Especially at my age, coming into Formula 1 at the age of 19, a lot of eyes are on you. Dealing with all of these things took its toll on me. “
Norris said the immense pressure to perform to make sure he doesn’t gamble his first opportunity in F1 was hard to combat.
“[It was] I feel like I don’t know what’s next? ”He said. “If that goes wrong, if I don’t go out and perform for the next session, what happens then?
“What is the result of all of this? Will I be in Formula 1 next year if I am not? What am I going to do because I’m not really good at many other things in life?
“So, all of that, and then I often feel depressed that when I have a bad weekend I just think that I’m not good enough and things like that.
“When they add up over the course of the season and then the social media side of it all, it can really start to hurt you.”
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Norris says a combination of helping his McLaren team and working with the mental health charity Mind has helped him be in a much better place now.
“We work with Mind, who have helped me a lot and a lot of other people at McLaren, but also just in the world in general,” he said.
“So when I talk to McLaren, the people around me and my friends I trust, and Mind, I’m in a much better place now. I am much happier and can enjoy everything I do. “
Norris is traveling to the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend following McLaren’s win at Monza and his pole position in Russia.
However, he says the team is keeping expectations in check, realizing that they still don’t have a car that can keep up with pacemakers Mercedes and Red Bull on all tracks.
“At the moment, of course, we have great expectations of Monza, where we had a 1-2, and last weekend I was in pole position and almost won the race.
“So many expect amazing things. But we have to limit them somehow because realistically we are still not as fast as Mercedes and Red Bull, who are currently the two leading teams.
“We still have a lot to do, but every race is an opportunity.”
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