- Rising F1 star Lando Norris said he struggled with depression during his rookie season in the sport.
- The 21-year-old worried for his future as he was "not really good at many other things in life."
- Norris joined the sport in 2019 and finished the season 11th in the driver standings on 49 points.
Rising F1 star Lando Norris said he struggled with depression during his rookie season and found it difficult to deal with the pressure.
Speaking to UK daytime show This Morning, Norris said he feared for his future in the sport. "[I was] feeling like, I don't know what's next, if this goes wrong, if I don't go out in the next session and perform, what's the outcome of all of this?
"Am I going to be in Formula 1 next year? If I'm not, what am I going to do? Because I'm not really good at many other things in life.
"So just all of that, and then feeling a depressed a lot of the time that if I have a bad weekend I just think, I'm not good enough and things like that.
Norris finished in 11th position in the driver standings during the 2019 season and has improved year by year. He is currently fourth in the 2021 standings, the highest position of a non-Mercedes or Red Bull driver.
The McLaren driver also spoke of how perception has changed of the sport and that shows such as Netflix's "Drive to Survive" have highlighted the pressures that drivers are under.
"I guess people, when you just watch TV, don't realize many things that a driver goes through.
"It's a bit of a shame but there's more programmes now where you get to see what the driver is like behind the scenes, and the amount of pressure and stress that they have to cope with.
"Especially at my age, coming into Formula 1 at 19, there's a lot of eyes on you. So dealing with all these kind of things, that took its toll on me.
"When they start adding up over a season, and the social media side of it all, that can just really start to hurt you."
Norris said he was in a "much better place now" and credited that to his team as well as his work with UK mental health charity Mind.