SAO PAULO -- Lando Norris insisted nothing will change in how he approaches the pursuit of a first career Formula 1 championship now he holds a narrow title lead so close to the end of the season.
Norris moved one point ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by winning the Mexican Grand Prix, the first time he had been in front since April.
Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix -- which also includes a sprint race on Saturday -- is one of four races in the next five weeks to finish the season.
It's been a remarkable turnaround. Norris was 34 points adrift after retiring from the Dutch Grand Prix in August, but has finished ahead of Piastri at every round since.
Asked how it changes his mindset to be back in the lead of the race so close to the end of the season, Norris said: "I think when you get reminded about it [you think about it], for me it's not something I think of at all.
"But when I get reminded about it, just because of my friends or people you bump into, talk about it and bring it up ... it's still a core thought, just thinking about fighting for a world championship in Formula 1. Just being in a position to do that and for me to be in that position is still part of my dream.
"To be a Formula 1 driver, to try and win races, things like that, it still feels incredible. But I don't think in terms of races and achieving the actual dream of being a champion. At the minute it doesn't feel any different.
"I think nothing's completed, nothing's done. There's still over 120 points or something available [116 points are available to any driver]. It doesn't mean anything still for the time being. It's a nice thought again to look on and think about. But otherwise, it's nice to be there. I still need to go and try to win this weekend and win the final race. "That's still my goal."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who remains the outsider in the title race, is now the one 36 points behind. It's a 180 degree turnaround from last year's race at Interlagos, when Norris arrived as the man chasing Verstappen in the run-in.
That proved to be a pivotal and memorable contest. While Norris faltered in heavy rain, Verstappen turned in one of the great drives of the modern era in heavy rain to effectively seal the championship.
"I would say there's nothing in the front of my head that goes, 'I'm doing this or I'm making these decisions now because of last year'," Norris said on the topic of what has changed 12 months on.
"I think maybe there are some more subconscious things. Maybe things that I already thought of earlier in the season that are more embedded. I think just trying to have confidence in myself and belief in myself that I can go out and do what I've done.
"I think when I have a weekend like last [the Mexican GP], I still prove a bit to myself that I can go out and I can dominate a weekend. That's a very nice thing to think of. It's nice to still prove to myself every now and then what I'm capable of and what I can achieve.
"But that's it. Like I've always said and I think I've probably said every single weekend this year, it's one race at a time."
After his Zandvoort retirement Norris told the media he could now race with nothing to lose. Other than a sloppy Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he failed to fully capitalize on Piastri crashing in qualifying and the race, Norris has been the far stronger McLaren driver in the time since.
Asked by ESPN if that mindset was significant in the turnaround in his championship prospects, he said: "Not really. I think when you say those kind of things, maybe there's a couple of little decisions here and there. Probably since then, three or four decisions along the way, and probably more when you're taking risks.
"So in terms of racing situations or things, maybe in qualifying you think, 'well, may as well just go for it'. But it's not like every approach, every lap I do is, 'I've got nothing to lose here, let's try a bit more'. That's certainly not true.
"I definitely wouldn't put it down to that. I'd put it more down to just having worked hard and having a very good team around me -- 99% of it is down to that. 1% is a mix of various different things. But most results coming from work done rather than mentality or things. But mentality has improved, the approach has improved, preparation has improved.
"All of that has improved because of doing more work and working harder and spending more time trying to understand things rather than, I've got nothing to lose now, I'll just go for it. There's maybe been two, three, four decisions along the way since then where I might just risk a bit more. I think much less than you think and more of it down to just work."