Formula 1 driver Lando Norris 'confident' as season begins, looks forward to U.S. races

At the age of 23, Lando Norris is already a Formula 1 veteran. With six podiums on his resume, he is entering his fifth season with McLaren Racing.

Norris — who hails from Bristol, England — became the youngest British driver to race in Formula 1 when he made his debut at the age of 19. This year, he will be stepping into a leadership role with rookie Oscar Piastri taking the place of veteran Daniel Ricciardo. Piastri, 21, has made history of his own as the first driver to win a three-peat of Formula series championships.

McLaren also has a new team principal in Andrea Stella.

Despite the changes, Norris said his mindset ahead of the 2023 calendar is not much different than in years past.

"I always just feel more confident, a bit more experienced, more knowledgeable, always as excited as the previous seasons," he told USA TODAY Sports. "So I don’t think too many things changed apart from that. It’s not like I have a whole different approach. You just have a different way of doing certain things. You learn what works for you, what doesn’t, all of those things. You just make small changes every season."

The 2023 Formula 1 season launches Friday with the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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Lando Norris understands McLaren's path to winning is a process

One constant that has guided Norris in his motorsport career is McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. The Los Angeles native has helmed the ship at Woking since 2018 and has been credited with putting McLaren's Formula 1 and IndyCar teams in position to be competitive.

"He wants to win himself and he has that drive and that passion," Norris said. "But he also knows how to run a company and get the right people involved."

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The driver continued that Brown is good at getting his team to buy in to the process, which continues this season as McLaren celebrates 60 years.

"This year, it’s not going to be just one year that’s all of a sudden incredible," Norris said. "It’s about taking some steps forward and over the next few years, when things are coming together even more, should be the years we can take those bigger steps forward."

Lando Norris looks forward to United States Grand Prix in Austin

The 2023 Formula 1 season features three races in the United States for the first time with the reintroduction of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The other races are in Miami and Austin.

Norris scored points with a Top 10 finish in each of his appearances at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. His highest finish was last year when he placed sixth.

"It’s one I’ve loved every single year," he said. "I look forward to going back every single year. Crazy fans, great place, fun place to be, good food, just a great experience all around."

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Norris was a guest deejay at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. In the race, he crashed and did not finish.

"Every race I want to do well. I want to have a good result.," he said. "This year, I have another chance to make up for it and to do well. So that plan is to do exactly that. Not easy, but we’ll have to wait and see."

Lando Norris places U.S. races in 'top 5'

Formula 1's reputation and fanbase continues to grow in the United States, and the McLaren fanbase is clearly present in waves of the team's signature papaya orange color when the team rolls into race weekends.

Norris said he's noticed, particularly during his parade wave to fans prior to the Austin race at Circuit of Americas. 

"I remember me and Daniel ... we were not surprised, but it was pretty cool to see how much orange there was," he said. "How many people in our tops or the jerseys that we had. The orange caps. It’s I guess a little bit surprising to see how many of them are just pure McLaren fans, which is a great thing to have."

He credited the Netflix series "Drive to Survive" for helping build the bridge to the United States and said the drivers themselves get excited to race in the country.

"If you ask every driver on the grid, (the United States races) are all going to be ones that probably are in the top 5," Norris said.

Lando Norris thinks Formula 1 Las Vegas night race will be 'cool'

Norris has only been to Las Vegas once, when he was 17 to speak at an event. He said he is looking forward to experiencing the city more when Formula 1 races there in November.

"(Las Vegas) is somewhere that everyone talks about," he said. "You see it in movies. It’s just one of the coolest places from what I’ve seen and from what I’ve heard."

Preparing for the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be "more of a guesswork" than a usual race because of the nature of the street circuit in the middle of a busy city, which is still under construction. The drivers use a race simulator to practice a track, but that opportunity will be limited for this race.

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There are only a handful of night races on the Formula 1 calendar, including the Singapore Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which serves as the season finale. Las Vegas joins that group.

"I would say I prefer it. Just ‘cause it’s quite different," he said of racing at night. "The night races just give that different experience, looks different, looks cooler I think. The cars look better. It’s good fun.

"They’re always exciting races, which look very glamorous and cool. So Vegas is probably going to top all of them put together."

Lando Norris reveals he'll wear special helmets in 4 cities

A way many Formula 1 drivers express themselves on the grid is by wearing custom helmets. Norris has impressed with his helmet designs, including last year's at the Miami Grand Prix, which looked like a basketball. It even had a rubbery texture.

Norris said he is planning to impress again with special helmets this year for Miami, Singapore, his home race at Silverstone and one for Las Vegas.

The Miami one will be "kind of like the basketball-themed one, but just something else. ... I hope everyone likes it."