Rosberg Identifies 'Mental Struggle' Signs On Norris

Thursday, 19 October 2023 at 14:30

Updated at Wednesday, 25 October 2023 at 21:34

F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg recently discussed drivers' mindset concerning Lando Norris's 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend struggles.

Even though Lando Norris achieved two podiums throughout the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend, he was not satisfied with his performance, as he made clear on the team radio and in interviews throughout the weekend.

There has been a question for Lando Norris about what is proving tricky in regards to driving his car, to which he responded - "nothing, just a lack of talent." Nico Rosberg reacted in a recent Sky's F1 Podcast episode:

"He goes into this spiral of saying ‘I’m not good enough, I’m making mistakes and I’ve done a bad job’ and he just repeats it over and over. That’s a typical example of a little bit of a mental struggle there."

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The German revealed he used to work with psychologists throughout his Formula One career. Apparently, working with a psychologist was more intense for Rosberg than physical training.

However, as the World Champion said, it was a "big, big part" of achieving the Drivers' Championship title in 2016. He explained he wanted to message Norris:

"I wanted to say that one thing is thinking you are not good enough, But the other thing, which you can influence and avoid, is what you are saying. If you keep repeating that, you start to believe what you say."

The 38-year-old tried to explain the importance of wording in these kind of sentences. Drivers should avoid repeating negative sentences for the whole weekend.

"So let’s keep that. It’s just a matter of saying once, ‘it’s not been my best weekend, for some reason it was difficult to put the lap together in qualifying’ and then that’s it. There’s a difference between saying it once like that and just repeating it over and over for the whole weekend."

If Norris really struggles, he will hopefully listen to what the World Champion says about psychology and take something with him. The McLaren driver has a chance to regain some confidence during this week's United States Grand Prix.