It's been three years and what feels like a lifetime ago since Lando Norris last competed in Japan, in what was his debut season as a Formula 1 driver, and a lot has changed since then.

The British star has gone on to become an established star of the sport, evolving both as a person and as a driver. Finishing 2019 with 49 points, he's already scored more than twice that with five races to go, as well as taking an unlikely podium at Imola.

Speaking on his return to Japan, we asked Lando where he had improved since the last time he was at Suzuka and he replied: "I want to believe I have improved in almost every area.

"I think every area of my driving has improved, as well as the stuff off track, so the feedback and how I work with my engineers, all of that stuff. A lot of that comes from experience and from having a good team around me, we're all helping each other to improve and becoming better people."

Lando was the youngest driver on the grid in 2019 and three years on, only Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda is younger, but the British racer has matured into a leader within the team and a consistent points' scorer.

The now 22-year-old says much of that can be put down to his improvements off the track, asserting "Mentally, I am in a much better place."

With World Mental Health Day approaching on Monday, 10 October, it provided a timely reminder of the importance of maintaining good mental health. Continuing on the topic, Lando says: "I spoke a lot to a lot of my friends and worked out better ways of spending more time with them.

"That and speaking more openly to the team that I have around me. Being more open with my engineer, my trainer, my friends and my family. Being more open isn't always the easiest thing, but I’m back here with a lot of confidence for the weekend in general."

After getting caught up in a first-lap incident at Suzuka in 2019 that effectively ruled him out of contention and saw him finish 11th, Norris will be hoping for a much cleaner race this time around.

Lando ran for McLaren in FP1 at the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, and made his race debut in his rookie season the following year, but that remains his only prior experience of the circuit. Despite that, he says he's not felt the need to do a ton of additional preparation.

"I have done the normal amount of prep," he says. "We reviewed everything that happened in 2019, as well as in 2018 when I did the FP1 here.

"I wouldn't say I have done any more than normal. This is one of the tracks I haven't been to in a while, and the latest data we have from here comes from 2019, so there are a lot of areas to improve on and work on.

"I maybe spent a bit more time on the simulator than normal, but apart from that, not really, and I feel prepared.

Lando will return to the track for qualifying at 15:00 local time and is targeting his seventh consecutive top-10 finish.

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