In 2021, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had a mammoth collision at Silverstone, leading to the latter experiencing a 52G crash while crossing the Copse. Recollecting that chilling visual, Lando Norris revealed to Tom Clarkson, during one of the Beyond the Grid episodes, that he is always wary at Silverstone, which is his home circuit, while going beyond the limit.
“I feel like the best description of it is you see the consequence of when Max and Lewis came together and how big of a crash that was for Max. That’s when you see what it is doing. The thing I always use is ‘Would someone else lift less than me,’” said Norris when asked whether he approaches Silverstone differently.
The Briton then adds that he always keeps in mind if someone else would push it more than required. He then references whether Verstappen would push beyond him. He then admits he often forces himself to seek yes for an answer and often compromises and doesn’t push ‘more than he should’.
The collision between Verstappen and Hamilton was definitely one of the craziest crashes in modern F1 history. Even though the Dutchman stepped out without a scratch, he was taken to the hospital for mandatory checks and wasn’t pleased with Hamilton’s lack of remorse.
The incident surely fuelled the heated exchanges between the two teams that were going throughout the season already. While Norris is yet to have such a heated competition with Verstappen, the question is whether will he when the lifetime dream is on the line.
Will Lando Norris go all-in against his best friend?
In 2023, Lando Norris had a few battles with Max Verstappen, but the latter had a significant edge in all of them. But with McLaren aiming to get a car that can win, Norris would be willing to push more, considering, in that situation, he would be thinking of the title.
Like every F1 driver, even Norris had dreamt of lifting a world title. So it’s a big question would he push his best friend like Hamilton did a couple of years ago? Certainly, he didn’t do it in 2023, but he gave a reasonable explanation for that.
In 2023, when Verstappen was trailing Norris, the latter always succumbed to his charge without putting a fight. However, when Norris was about this, he explained that it was nearly impossible to keep the three-time world champion behind. In the process, Norris rubbished claims that he went easy on Verstappen because of their ‘friendship’.
Norris argued that RB19 had comparatively much lesser tire degradation, so to optimize Mclaren’s results, he was forced to not push too hard. Therefore, it is now upon McLaren to force some battles between the two friends.
