For the first time, sparks flew between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the 2024 Austrian GP. While the duo has developed a good bond off the track, Norris did not hesitate to fight the three-time champion, which led to a race-ending collision for him. Now, the McLaren man has not had a similar incident with Verstappen since then. However, just in case the situation arises, he stated that he won’t back down.
Norris and Verstappen often spend time with each other partying, sim racing, and playing padel as well. Furthermore, they even travel to race weekends together. However, after their collision in Austria, they flew separately due to the impending tension immediately after their coming together.
Verstappen Norris
Incredible scenes at the Red Bull Ring #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YvD0dg2TUH
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
In an exclusive with RacingNews365, Norris stated that he won’t cut Verstappen any slack, just because they often play padel together or travel together. He said, “I don’t care if I played padel with someone last week or went out to dinner with someone”.
“It doesn’t change what I want to do on track, which is win races. It just makes you want to beat them more often than less often. For me, they’re just two different worlds”, the Briton added.
Norris knows that even Verstappen won’t go easy on him in head-to-head battles on track like they had in Austria. In fact, the Austria collision would have helped the #4 driver understand more about the Dutchman’s racecraft, given he is new to racing at the sharp end in F1.
Can Norris learn from his clash with Verstappen to boost his title challenge?
Norris could’ve tackled Verstappen differently in Austria to come out on top and get his second Grand Prix win. Had he pulled off a switch-over move to fox the Red Bull driver like Charles Leclerc did in 2022, the Briton could’ve avoided the race-ending contact.
Regardless, going ahead, Norris needs to be smarter about his racecraft to outfox Verstappen. While it is important for him to be aggressive to avoid the Dutchman dominating him on track, Norris needs to understand when to take a step back to pounce later.
Currently, the McLaren driver is 78 points behind Verstappen in the standings. With only 10 races to go, he needs to capitalize on Verstappen’s current wretched form with no wins in the last four races. If Norris can implement the learnings from his on-track battles so far, there is some hope for him to reduce that championship lead.
