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Former team boss protects Norris, saying he is "too hard on himself"
Former Aston Martin and Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer believes that Lando Norris is "really hard on himself", protecting the McLaren driver. The former team boss also says that if he were in Formula 1, he would like to work with the 24-year-old.
Szafnauer has worked alongside many drivers in his F1 career, including Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. The Romanian-American team boss spent many years working for Force India, which later changed to Racing Point before transitioning to the current Aston Martin team. He then became Alpine's team boss in 2022, but he was then sacked in the middle of the 2023 season. Since then, he has not been active as team boss.
Szafnauer wants to work with Verstappen or Norris
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Szafnauer was asked which driver he would like to work with if he were a team boss for 2024: Probably Max [Verstappen], or Lando [Norris]."
Both have been the clear standouts in the 2024 season, with both of them doing battle on the track in an extremely competitive drivers' championship title race. However, after a superb drive at the Brazilian Grand Prix, it looks like Verstappen will earn his fourth world title, with Norris just missing out due to some mistakes and poor starts.
However, when asked why he would want to work with the Brit, Szafnauer believes that the 24-year-old is far too harsh on himself: "I have never worked with him, but I know his dad. I don't know Lando that well myself. But I listen to him, and he can be really hard on himself. He blames himself for a lot of things. I think that if he can change that and be a bit more positive... I mean, he's doing well, but I'd like to work with him and just say, 'Hey, you're great, believe in yourself'."
This article was created in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
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