Confession: Lando Norris is “annoyed and unhappy” with the way things are working out at McLaren.

According to The Mirror, the 24-year-old thinks he has what it takes to challenge Max Verstappen in the Formula 1 World Championship. But so far, the 2024 season has been somewhat of a rollercoaster for him.

After starting the season with sixth and eighth-place finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, respectively, Norris placed third at the Australian Grand Prix and fifth in Japan. Thanks to their performances, he now has 37 points and is ranked fifth in the standings.

The shocking thing is that he is still 40 points behind leader Verstappen and 18 points behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for fourth place. Because he is driven to become the best, Norris acknowledges that sometimes this makes him appear a little grouchy or irritated during post-race banter.

He told the Guardian, “I am critical of myself and I know it can look bad from the outside, absolutely.” “When I see my own interviews, I appear so irritated and depressed. It’s because I have a racing mind and am asking myself, “Why did I make this mistake? Would this or that happen if I did it? “What if I had taken a different approach?”

“But I set high goals for myself, I know what I am capable of, I want to try to achieve great things and I am not going to do that by being complacent.”

Although Norris is a well-known figure on the track, he has no plans to stop there. He is currently in his sixth season with McLaren on the Formula One circuit. Norris finished the 2023 season in sixth place thanks to a strong finish that included four second-place finishes in the final eight races.

He encountered criticism, meanwhile, for stating he didn’t want to be Verstappen’s teammate after agreeing to a new contract with McLaren last year. This gave rise to allegations that he was afraid of the Dutchman, which he has now categorically refuted and provided an explanation for.

“I believe I can achieve a championship at McLaren, that’s why I signed another contract,” he stated. “I really believe I can take on Max and present him with a worthy challenge. However, I also think highly of Max, therefore it’s very hard for anyone to take on Max in his team and push him to a global championship.

He had the option of switching to Mercedes in the past and competing against Lewis Hamilton, but would it have been a wise move? Most likely not, and things would likely be different now that he wasn’t in a Red Bull.

“I am thrilled to oppose Max and have no fear of him in the slightest. He is regarded as one of the finest, therefore I want to challenge that and establish my own worth.

“I look forward to being able to battle him, but genuinely for position and not have him half a second a lap quicker and just drive past me.”