Lando Norris takes aim at critics passing judgment on his failed title campaign against Max Verstappen in 2024

McLaren driver Lando Norris has said he was in favor of criticism but did not appreciate fans deriving their own theories of his performances in the failed title bid against Max Verstappen last year. The British driver has arguably had the faster car for the majority of the season but failed to consistently challenge the Red Bull driver.

In the second half of the season, the 25-year-old picked up only three race wins and let go of several opportunities due to strategic mismanagement and mistakes. He ultimately finished the year with a career-best P2 and only had a buffer of 18 points to Charles Leclerc behind him.

While appearing on the Fast and the Curious podcast, Norris spoke about the criticism over a failed title bid against the Dutch driver:

“I’m all up for people having their own opinions and saying, ‘What happens if he did this,’ ‘Should he have done that.’ I respect all those things. The only thing you don’t respect is people who think they know better when they most likely don’t because they weren’t in that situation, they’re not living that moment.

And false stuff. Stuff that’s just like, ‘How the hell has someone come up with that?’ People don’t call it conspiracy theories now, they just call it their 'facts,’ 'my personal facts.’ That’s not how it works. That’s not the definition of ‘the facts.’" [40:30]

The McLaren driver was on the receiving end of a lot of criticism but gained back some admirers for his drive in Abu Dhabi as he delivered a perfect drive to take the British team to its first Constructors title since 1998.

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Lando Norris comments on his target for the 2025 season with McLaren

McLaren driver Lando Norris has said he and the team will focus on starting the season well as they lost out a lot of points and momentum last year to Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, the four-time F1 race winner said:

“We have not started the season well, ever. This year is the first one we’re coming in like, ‘We’ve done it now,’ now there is pressure and there’s the expectation of ‘you’ve done it and now you have to start it (the way you finished it).' That’s our target, but it’s difficult."

The British driver was competitive and fought for race wins after the sixth event last year in Miami and lost out on a lot of points. Norris had a deficit of 63 points to the eventual champion Verstappen last year after the four-time F1 world champion won two of the last four races before the year's end.