Sebastian Vettel praises Lando Norris as a “real role model” for honest self-criticism

Sebastian Vettel has labelled Lando Norris a “real role model” for being self-critical, dismissing that it’s a weakness.

Norris has been vocal in recent weeks about his struggles with this year’s McLaren F1 car.

The British driver endured a scrappy weekend in Bahrain, finishing well behind teammate Oscar Piastri.

Still, Norris leads the F1 drivers’ championship after four rounds, three points ahead of Piastri.

Norris is one of the few drivers on the grid to criticise himself publicly - something that has led to external criticism that he doesn’t have the right mentality to become an F1 world champion.

Vettel, who retired at the end of 2022, believes Norris’ attitude is a “positive development” and not a sign of weakness.

“I think it’s a positive development because we are normal people,” Vettel said as quoted by Reuters.

“We do have normal problems just like everybody else. Heroism is fine but it’s also part of the heroism to just talk about your problems and your weakness. I think that’s a great development to see and to witness and, you know, real role models.

“I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness. It might be criticised by some people, but if you look at the broader picture, I think it’s just progress.”

Despite Norris’ difficulties with the MCL39, he has finished on the podium at all four races in 2025.

However, Piastri has shown to be the quicker of the two drivers despite being behind in the championship.

Vettel still sees Norris as the favourite for this year’s title.

“I would still put Lando as an indirect favourite, but time will tell,” Vettel added.

“Naturally people always look for entertainment, which is fine and it’s part of the sport, but I don’t see those two having a really intense and rough partnership.

“I think they’ll get along and I think Andrea [Stella] also is in a position to manage them well.

“I think the rivalries nowadays are different. I think we had respect and I think this generation has respect for each other. But I think they have progressed and they manage it better than us to differentiate what’s happening on track and what’s happening off track.”

Vettel doesn’t rule out Red Bull

Vettel won all four of his F1 world titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013.

He ultimately decided to leave them for Ferrari at the end of 2014 following a winless campaign.

After several years of dominance, Max Verstappen is now going through a similar journey where Red Bull are struggling relative to their rivals.

Verstappen finished a disappointing sixth in Bahrain, only overtaking Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on the final lap.

While it’s “not that easy to fix”, Vettel feels it’s “very possible” that Red Bull can turn things around.

“Obviously Red Bull isn’t very strong now, but if you just go back one year, Red Bull started off very strong and wasn’t that strong at the end and still won. So I think, you know, of course it can change,” Vettel explained.

“It’s not that easy to fix but generally I think they know what they are doing. It is very likely or very possible that Red Bull can turn it around.”