Lando Norris feels he can benefit from Russian Grand Prix heartbreak

Lando Norris believes he can benefit from the heartbreak of dramatically missing out on victory at the Russian Grand Prix.

Norris was three laps away from claiming his maiden Formula 1® victory but was denied by rain in Sochi last Sunday.

He spun off the track after the decision was made that he would stay out on slicks, eventually finishing seventh as Lewis Hamilton claimed a 100th F1® win.

The McLaren driver was left devastated having come so close to his first win but says he will learn from the painful experience.

"It's not just something people say, it definitely is true [that tough experiences make you stronger],” Norris told F1.com.

"You do learn probably more from the hard moments. You always learn things. Even if you win a race, you can learn things.

"Definitely when you have to make these split-second decisions, when it's not an easy decision, and you need so many different factors involved, there is a lot of things you can learn.

"I feel like I have a long career in F1, it's nice in a way to get it out early, so that when these things arise in the future, or in my future years in F1, I’ll be able to react better."

The 21-year-old expressed his gratitude for the support he has received since the race in Russia.

"I got quite a few messages and not necessarily from drivers. Obviously everyone within McLaren and a lot of people even from different sports," he added.

"It was more of a time when people see it as an emotion-attached sport, rather than cars driving round in circles, as lot of people like to say.

"So I guess they saw the feelings we have as drivers, the passion we have for the sport, the desire to win. You want to do the best job you can for the team.

"I got a lot of messages from a lot of people which in some ways help. There were a lot of 'Your time will come!' But no matter what, they definitely helped."

Head high, my time will come pic.twitter.com/Z7YUm7w8BD

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 27, 2021