Norris finished sixth in the 2023 drivers’ standings, marking his joint-best championship finish in his F1 career, with a personal best of seven podiums.
But it was his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri who took one of only two non-Red Bull wins from 28 possible chances, after the Australian won in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint from world champion Max Verstappen.
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Norris felt there he “should have fought for two pole positions…and potentially two victories” but for qualifying errors, while a late Q1 mistake following a fuel system check in Mexico meant he started down in 19th before charging back to fifth.
The British driver also lost a chance to claim pole for the Abu Dhabi GP due to a mistake in the final sector of his last Q3 lap.
Norris was notably self-critical after his most high-profile mistakes in 2023, saying “I’m so shit sometimes” over his team radio after his track limits error in Qatar GP qualifying.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was then moved to say in Abu Dhabi that “the way he addresses his own performance, I think deserves attention because he just seems very harsh on himself”.
Source: Autosport