Title Will Come Down To Fewest Mistakes - Norris

Lando Norris says nan Formula 1 world title will beryllium decided this twelvemonth by which contender makes nan fewest mistakes.

Norris trails McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 16 points heading into this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, pursuing Piastri's triumph successful Belgium past weekend.

Norris said: "It's conscionable who qualifies first and 2nd much often. And you benignant of conscionable clasp connected successful Turn One and past spell from there. There's not been galore races wherever positions person swapped done a race.

"So truthful it's much who tin make nan slightest mistakes erstwhile they suffice first."

Norris, who has won 4 races to Piastri's six truthful acold this season, was on rod successful Spa past play but was overtaken by Piastri connected nan first lap.

The Briton acknowledged location were "certain things" he could person done amended successful Belgium, but insisted "nothing which intends I could person won nan race".

Norris said: "I don't consciousness for illustration I did a bad job. I didn't person nan champion tally but astatine nan aforesaid clip we had some, not problems, immoderate incorrect settings pinch nan battery. Which meant he had a flimsy advantage of artillery compared to me, which surely didn't help. But I besides didn't do nan champion (first) 2 corners.

"Whether that would person made a quality aliases not, difficult to say. With nan issue, he astir apt would person passed maine nary matter what. So yeah, a tougher 1 to return from that perspective."

Norris besides pointed to a slow pit extremity and a lock-up successful Turn One while he was trying to pursuit Piastri down and which costs him a full of 4 seconds of title clip erstwhile he mislaid by little than that.

Norris has acknowledged already this play that he made excessively galore mistakes successful qualifying successful nan early portion of nan season, erstwhile Piastri went connected a tally of 4 wins successful 5 races.

And he said he had adjusted his attack from ever pushing to nan limit to springiness himself a small much separator for error.

"Sometimes this year, moreover 95% would person been fine," Norris said.

"These are immoderate of my mistakes from earlier connected successful nan season. I mean, I tried earlier astatine 101%. Sometimes that's amazing. Sometimes that's, I think, arsenic bully arsenic you tin get.

"I do judge that. But besides astatine times I should thrust astatine 95% aliases moreover 90% and that's not capable to beryllium connected rod aliases P2 sometimes.

"So yeah, I regret trying to... I mean, I do regret trying to beryllium truthful bully astatine nan opening portion of nan season. And I deliberation now already I sometimes settee for a 95% thigh and that's still bully enough."

Piastri said: "I person a batch of assurance successful myself that I tin do it. Not each play has been perfect, but there's not galore weekends successful my full life that person been perfect.

"Just trying to put together a solid, accordant twelvemonth is yet going to beryllium important.

"The gait successful nan past fewer weekends, particularly Spa, I've been very assured successful and very proud of.

"I'm much than tin of continuing that for nan remainder of nan year. I'm assured that I tin do it, but it's not going to beryllium easy."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen is 81 points down Piastri - much than 3 clear wins. And Norris said that while it was "never impossible", nan Dutchman was "quite a agelong measurement back".

He added: Max is still rather easy 1 of nan champion drivers ever successful Formula 1. So arsenic a driver, I wouldn't norm him out.

"But we person a amended car, we person a amended team. So I person my assurance successful them that we tin enactment ahead."

Mercedes driver George Russell said: "Oscar's been very solid. I deliberation he gets nan astir retired of himself each azygous weekend, is my takeaway, he's very consistent, doesn't get flustered, and conscionable delivers reliably.

"Whereas I consciousness Lando's sewage immense earthy speed, but astir apt nan deed complaint isn't arsenic precocious arsenic Oscar's.

"But they're 2 unthinkable drivers, and I deliberation they'll proceed fighting for rather a while. But Oscar doesn't look very phased."

Russell besides pointed to a punishment Piastri received for braking down nan information car astatine nan British Grand Prix, which costs him nan triumph to Norris.

"It swings truthful quickly, doesn't it? The momentum shifts truthful quickly," Russell said. "But I deliberation Oscar was a spot unfortunate successful Silverstone. He could person besides won nan title successful Austria, it could person gone very differently.

"Lando, complete nan past 3 years, has beaten Oscar complete that period, truthful you can't count retired either of them, but I deliberation it's decidedly adjacent to opportunity Oscar's benignant of stepped up this year."