“It’s a different battle because of how Max races”– Lando Norris calls out aggressive race craft of Max Verstappen

Lando Norris talks about how aggressive Max Verstappen gets during the close fights, and it’s not something he faces in midfield.

Max Verstappen is known for his fierce or what some perceive as reckless driving. While his driving style has sometimes benefitted him, it also has cost others and himself points.

Last year, in Monza, where he was held responsible for the collision with Lewis Hamilton, he almost injured the Briton. Now, Lando Norris, one of Verstappen’s contemporaries, talks about how he finds the latter’s driving style aggressive.

He claims that the Dutchman gets too aggressive when tense moments arise. Moreover, Norris adds that he hardly gets to see this style of racing in midfield.

“It’s a different battle because of how Max races,” Norris told the BBC. “It’s a different breed of drivers. With aggression, you saw how he drove and changed when it came down to those final races.

“It’s maybe something you don’t experience so much in the midfield because you’re not going for a World Championship, or some of the drivers don’t have that mentality of risking everything.”

Also read: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz expect Mercedes to rise back to the top soon enough

Lando Norris won’t take a similar approach if he battles for the championship

Further, Norris was asked whether he would take a similar approach in racing if he fights for the championship in future. In response, the 22-year-old insists that he would not.

“It’s difficult. You would try and play smart as much as you can. There are things you would definitely try and outsmart your team-mate on. But I’m also a fair racer and, I don’t know, maybe don’t push the limits quite as much in certain areas,” he added.

Norris is rated as a future champion by several F1 experts, including former F1 champion Nico Rosberg. This year, McLaren hasn’t shown signs of battling for the championship.

McLaren needs to do work

After the pre-season testing in Bahrain, Norris claimed that McLaren has a lot of work to do for them to achieve their goals for 2022. Norris’ words became apparent when both McLaren drivers struggled in Bahrain testing.

His teammate Daniel Ricciardo even failed to get into the Q2 on Saturday. At the same time, Norris couldn’t get into the top10 list of drivers. Therefore, it’s a worrying sign for McLaren, as Haas and Alfa Romeo have also stepped up their challenge.

Also read: Red Bull boss Christian Horner praises Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff for highlighting the importance of mental health