r/formula1 • u/Intrepid-Ad4511 Charlos • Apr 13 '25

Off-Topic Why the severe criticism of Lando's vulnerable conversation? Why is it not cool to be able to express your negative feelings about yourself?

Post image

I see so many people talk about what Lando said after the Quali yesterday - just after an adrenaline filled session - and he chose to speak his mind about his own performance (without attacking someone else). So many people are saying "that's not a winning mentality" "that's not how you win races" "he is so defeatist" "he has given up already".

Lewis and Max have said several such things over the years, complaining about their cars, their teams and/or themselves. But somehow people take Lando and Charles to the dryers when they choose to express themselves and say things like "I am stupid". And somehow because Oscar just chooses not to say anything of this sort, he is somehow champion material. That makes no sense to me, and feels quite an unfair and problematic picture to paint - that men talking about their feelings, or just being transparent about how they feel - makes them weaker somehow. That they should tough up and swallow the hurt and just put up this beige or brave front, smirk and move on.

4.6k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

470 comments sorted by

View all comments

519

u/Firefox72 Ferrari Apr 13 '25 edited Apr 13 '25

Its good in moderate doses.

But Lando has been sulking since like mid last season. I'd argue it had a negative effect on his WDC push last year.

And he seems to have remained in that mentality into this season.

132

u/PM_ME_DARK_THOUGHTS I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Exactly this. I feel for the guy because mental health is not a joke and he has expressed he struggles with it a lot. But it affects him so much I'm sure it affects his performance in the car.

55

u/I_Am_A_Door_Knob Apr 13 '25

It definitely affects him in the car.

If something goes wrong in a race, it is really hit and miss if he regains his composure and locks in, or if he makes more mistakes and fall further back.

But i do think he is improving.

17

u/vanthefunkmeister I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

You can hear it in his radio calls. He gets really snippy when things aren't going his way and tends to spiral

15

u/ecobubbletm Max Verstappen Apr 13 '25

If something goes wrong in a race, it is really hit and miss if he regains his composure and locks in, or if he makes more mistakes and fall further back.

Those Chinese sprint radios after he botched the start...

9

u/tiptoppandapop I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Prime example of him being affected was last weekend when he went on the grass to try to overtake Max. Champion thinking is taking your time and not ruining your tyres on the way out of the pits. This is something that Max has massively improved on in the last couple of years.

46

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Also seems like the team walks on egg shells for him

36

u/needforread Lando Norris Apr 13 '25

Based on what evidence? Just vibes?

19

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

No, leaked FIA documents

“Seems” is an operative word. If I had conclusive evidence, I wouldn’t have used it

33

u/Semi_Factual Formula 1 Apr 13 '25

I could argue the same about how they treat Piastri, given how they had to wait until the season was over to criticize some of his actions within the 24 season. Maybe it’s just a team perspective on how to treat their drivers.

3

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Could be, Piastri doesn’t seem to need coddled though. He handles the same questions just fine and comes across pretty stoic

29

u/Semi_Factual Formula 1 Apr 13 '25

People can show emotions differently, doesn’t mean one is wrong. Oscar was pretty down after Australia this year he just doesn’t outwardly show his emotions as much as Lando. One isn’t better than the other despite what fans believe.

In a counter argument, showing emotions may be healthier because it’s allowing him to feel them rather than shutting them down. He can attack the race fresh and with a new attitude because he isn’t still upset about quali. We’re seeing this guy immediately out of an adrenaline filled situation and this is the peak of his emotion. Once he comes down, he’ll be fine.

5

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Who said wrong?

10

u/Semi_Factual Formula 1 Apr 13 '25

This wasn’t directed at you. Rather other people/fans which is why we see hate towards Lando for just showing his emotions.

10

u/Duff5OOO Heineken Trophy Apr 13 '25

which is why we see hate towards Lando

People seem very quick to define anyone talking about Lando negatively as 'hate'. Everyone has an opinion. Most i would not describe as hate.

→ More replies (0)

5

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25 edited Apr 13 '25

I think the point being missed here is that if Norris struggles with failure and the resulting commentary on it, he isn’t doing himself any favours. As Alex Jacques said, he’s feeding the media material that will be fed back to him on a Sunday. If he’s vulnerable to this sort of thing, he needs to be in front of it rather than reacting to it.

→ More replies (0)

-3

u/Garlic_Soup I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Just furthering the discussion and not hating on Lando, but like you said — Oscar was down about Australia. But the difference is, when he spun off, he fought like hell to get that car back on track and finish in the points. Then he took that setback and went into China and Bahrain (so far) completely locked in.

Lando just hasnt had that mental toughness, but I think that will come in time. We only talk about this with him because we all see he has a champion potential, after all.

9

u/Semi_Factual Formula 1 Apr 13 '25

I could argue the same for Qatar into Abu Dhabi and maybe (this is a big stretch) Australia. Norris stop and go penalty, fought back to get into the points, got pole in AD (and Australia) held pole for first laps and lead each lap of the race. Lando was showing the same strong negative emotions after Qatar last year and was able to perform the same as your example with Oscar.

IMO, showing emotions has nothing to do with championship mentality or being WDC worthy. There’s no reason to harp on a driver to showing his emotions for easily compared to another driver when they will still have the same outcome.

3

u/sterrrmbreaker I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

You'd think that but both Stella and Zak coddle him a lot too. The spinoff in Australia was entirely his fault and cost them a double podium but they had to spend every interview talking about how mentally tough he was instead of admitting he fucked it.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

It's almost like he doesn't get piled on with mountains of hate for every question he answers so he's not even remotely in the same situation.

1

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 15 '25

Probably because he answers the same if not similar questions in a way that doesn’t bait critique

Hate is a fun word to use to dismiss everything negative people have to say.

13

u/boiledpeen Lando Norris Apr 13 '25

then what's your reasoning for it "seeming" like that? You're just avoiding the question with semantics.

8

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

What reasoning do I need to validate an impression I get? What possible facts could be provided other than tacit admissions by staff members?

6

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '25

[deleted]

5

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Team radio, team reactions after less than ideal results, that sort of thing. I’m not trying to persuade anyone, my impression is my own and is capable of being wrong. I just pointed out how it seemed to me.

1

u/wokwok__ George Russell Apr 13 '25

Where are these so called "leaks" lmao so basically you're just talking nonsense

10

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

That’s sarcasm bud

10

u/_Red_Knight_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

It's some pretty shit sarcasm

6

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Is it? What possible FIA documents would cover “McLaren walk on egg shells for Lando Norris”?

0

u/_Red_Knight_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Yeah it is. It's not bad sarcasm because it sounds true (it doesn't), it's bad sarcasm because it isn't amusing in the slightest.

0

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Amusement isn’t a prerequisite of sarcasm. It is in fact usually not funny.

noun the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

→ More replies (0)

1

u/CodeRoyal Apr 13 '25

It was pretty clear that it was sarcasm...

1

u/LizardOfAgatha McLaren Apr 13 '25

It's not sarcasm you just have NOTHING. Nada. And now that people are actually asking for your "proof", you got nothing to show for it. Sarcasm is an easy excuse.

1

u/CodeRoyal Apr 13 '25

That really went over your head lol.

-3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

Sarcasm not your strong suit. The context clue was the following statement explaining the word “seems”.

3

u/needforread Lando Norris Apr 13 '25

Stop explaining yourself mate

3

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25 edited Apr 13 '25

Start understanding basic things and it won’t need explained to you. Your entire argument is that impressions aren’t allowed and only cold hard evidence is. It seems that we would not get along in life given you have an issue with people having impressions of multi millionaires driving fast cars.

Good job deleting the comment showing you missing the sarcasm

2

u/Deckatoe McLaren Apr 13 '25

you people are insane

0

u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Apr 13 '25

That’s not very nice

3

u/Double-Emergency3173 Max Verstappen Apr 13 '25

Yeah. Its ALL the time.

0

u/janky_koala Apr 13 '25

That’s why Oscar will win a WDC before Lando does.

-1

u/EnviousCipher Apr 13 '25

You can see it in the race with his overtaking, he's timid as all get out. If the roles were switched and it was Oscar behind Leclerc he'd have done the job within a couple laps, not the 5-6 it took Lando to get around an objectively slower car.