Lando Norris on what he does between sessions

      In Formula 1, there is an old joke that is recalled from time to time, and it invariably brings smiles. Before the start of another session, the chief mechanic tells the race engineer that the car is ready. The engineer, glancing over his shoulder, dryly notes that it seems one important component is still missing. And only then, in accordance with the laws of the comedy genre, the driver bursts into the garage – literally at the last moment. The schedule on race weekend days is planned down to the minute, including how long it takes to get from the team's location to the pits. At some tracks, like in Miami, you have to walk through the entire paddock, which is usually full of people, while in China, teams are located in the same pit complex, so it only takes a few minutes to get to the garage. In general, you can imagine how tight the drivers' schedules are on Grand Prix days. But there are still pauses – how do drivers fill them? Before the Canadian stage of the season, the McLaren press service asked Lando Norris to talk about what he does between sessions. "Time between sessions goes by very quickly," Lando shared. "It is mostly dedicated to meetings with engineers, as well as various discussions, primarily with my Performance Engineer, where we discuss driving techniques in more detail." Summarizing the results of the previous session smoothly transitions into discussions about preparing the car for the next session. Not only are the drivers' impressions and their engineers' thoughts analyzed, but also information that comes online from the McLaren Technology Centre, where a separate team works on the simulator during the weekend. "First of all, we do this after the first practice," Norris continued. "The conversation is about the results from the simulator, how these findings differ from the picture we see on the track, and based on that, we discuss what will be tried in the second practice. Then, together with the race engineer, we consider what settings we will choose. Do we want the suspension to be stiffer? Maybe if we make it a bit softer, it will be more comfortable to drive – or is it better to choose a different direction and tighten the settings even more? All of this takes quite a bit of time. However, I do have personal time, and I use it to study telemetry and video recordings made by onboard cameras. I analyze all of this myself and create a plan for what needs to be done in the next session. Of course, meetings always take priority. But rest is considered second in importance, so I can also dedicate my free time to personal matters. An excess of information, with too many different kinds of conversations, is not always good either. Therefore, the schedule always includes time for me to relax and prepare for the next session. Sometimes I listen to music, but quite often I prefer a daytime nap, especially if I have to adapt to a change in time zones. But I can also watch a bit of golf or a MotoGP race, and if Formula 2 or F4 cars are on track, I’ll watch them too." An important part of the race weekend is dedicated to communication with the press, as well as meetings with the team's sponsors – mostly this takes place on Wednesday and Thursday, but drivers also always give quick interviews after sessions and the weekend as a whole. Moreover, this mostly happens in the evenings, and everyone understands that it is necessary. However, Lando does not hide that he tries, as much as possible, to limit everything that distracts him from his main work: "Our sport exists thanks to sponsors and fans, so communication with our partners is also a kind of priority. But our main task is to achieve high results, and the difficulty is that finding the right balance when scheduling is not easy. I try to ensure that I have more time that I can dedicate to myself or working with engineers. However, sometimes I also want to take a break and just chat with someone! But such decisions are not entirely in my power; rather, it is the task of those who know how to maintain that right balance."