Norris: “I’m not quite at the level I need to be at”

Lando Norris has candidly admitted that his racecraft is currently no match for that of Max Verstappen, whose defensive tactics - shall we say - divided opinion at the US Grand Prix last week.

The title rivals clashed in the final part of the race, with both drivers running off track as Norris passed Verstappen for third place.

The stewards immediately slapped him with a five-second penalty that demoted the Brit back to P4 at the flag, but the battle ignited a debate about Verstappen’s cunning interpretation of the rulebook and whether changes are required.

Essentially, the Dutchman’s worked out that as long as he’s ahead at the apex of a corner, he can afford to run the car behind off the circuit and get away with a warning, even if he goes off himself.

But if he gets overtaken in that situation - as Norris did in Austin - then his rival is almost guaranteed to get a penalty if he isn’t given the position back straight away.

It’s what happened to Lewis Hamilton on several occasions during the pair’s titanic title battle in 2021, most notably in Brazil and then again in Saudi Arabia that year.

Lando maintains that he felt his penalty last week was wrong, but has conceded that Max is simply very adept at pushing the limits of the regulations.

Asked about the battle in the build-up to the Mexican GP this weekend, Norris said: “I’d probably approach things in a pretty similar way. Slight tweaks here and there of course. Things always improve and I think Max is the best in the world in this style of defence and attacking.

“So I’m going up against the best in the world, therefore I’ve got to be at his level. At the minute I’d say I’m not quite at the level I need to be at. Which is a shame to say, but it’s probably the truth. At the same time, it’s an experience for me to learn and progress and try and do better.”

He added that he “really enjoyed” the scrap despite ultimately coming off second best and losing ground in the title race: he now trails Verstappen by 57 points with a maximum of 146 still on the table.

“But of course I want to be the one who comes out on top. I believe I rightfully was, but obviously the penalty in the end changed things around. I’ll of course change my approach in a slight manner. But I don’t need to change everything.”

With five races to go, does Norris need to throw caution to the wind and fight fire with fire?