Lando Norris ‘superpower’ highlighted as Button weighs title credentials

Jenson Button believes Lando Norris’ ability to be self-critical has been a “superpower” for him, having been able to control that mentality this season.

Norris has become well-known for pointing out his own mistakes or when he feels he has not driven well enough, but as he sits potentially on the cusp of his first Drivers’ title, the 2009 World Champion has highlighted that element of his racing as a strength of his.

Lando Norris self-criticism a ‘superpower’, says Button

The McLaren driver has managed to overhaul a 34-point deficit to his teammate, Oscar Piastri, and Norris now takes a 24-point advantage heading into the final three rounds of the season.

Should he outscore Max Verstappen by nine points at the weekend, that would eliminate the Red Bull driver from having a mathematical chance of retaining the title, leaving a straight fight between himself and Piastri.

Norris has, at different times, called his qualifying laps “not good enough” and has been introspective about his own performances, though has previously attracted questions over voicing his self-criticism publicly.

But for Button, the former McLaren driver explained that, as he appears able to be both self-aware and not have his rivals affect his performance, that is an “impressive” recipe for the future.

More on how the future of Formula 1 may look

👉 F1 2026 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for 2026?

👉 F1 driver contracts: What is the current contract status of every driver on the 2025 grid?

“I think I’ve pointed out before that when a driver is always negative about himself, it can be used against him by his competitors and what have you,” Button explained on Sky’s The F1 Show.

“It’s not a weakness, pointing the finger at yourself, it’s a strength, but you just don’t want to let everyone else see that.

“That’s always the way, but for him to understand that an incident was his fault, and not trying to point the finger elsewhere in the team – that’s very grown up and I really like that, and I think that is definitely a superpower he has.

“If you can control that mentally, always saying to yourself, ‘I didn’t do a good enough job, I didn’t do a good enough job’. that can get you down if you don’t have the right mentality. But maybe he does, and he’s just very good at talking about his weaknesses and how he can improve himself, and it’s impressive to see. It really is.”

With Norris having now opened up a lead worth almost a race win’s worth of points over Piastri, Button agreed that the Briton is in the box seat to become a World Champion.

Not just on a mathematical level, but because his recent drives have backed up that school of thought.

“You’d have to say at the moment, it’s in Lando’s favour,” Button replied.

“First of all, he’s leading the championship. But secondly, the performances are there. It’s been really impressive, so there’s no reason to not say Lando at this moment.”

Read next: Red Bull boss makes honest Las Vegas GP admission amid Verstappen title bid