Zak Brown Urges Lando Norris to Take Evasive Action as Max Verstappen Won’t Change His Approach

Lando Norris got a taste of what can happen while batting for the race lead in Austria. And when the opponent is Max Verstappen, the fierceness of that battle certainly can be tenfold. Thus, to avoid losing out again like he did in Spielberg, Zak Brown has advised Norris to take evasive action and try to not be in a position of colliding with Verstappen going ahead.

Speaking about the learnings from Austria, Brown stated in Silverstone, “He [Norris] knows it’s pretty tough out there and he needs to put himself in a position to make sure that doesn’t happen again.” The McLaren CEO knows how Verstappen is a relentless racer and doesn’t yield an inch to his opponents while in battle.

Thus, per him, Norris needs to be wary of the Dutchman’s aggressive maneuvers while also playing smart to edge him out. The Austrian GP battle can be a perfect lesson for Norris to learn how to fight Verstappen for victory going ahead.

While the Briton should not back out of fighting the reigning champion, he also needs to understand how Verstappen won’t mend his ways. Racing and defending aggressively has been an inherent trait of the Red Bull driver’s racecraft even before his F1 debut.

Even while attacking any other driver, he won’t back out and rather will look to pressure his opponent to yield. Thus, Brown would prefer Norris to not fall into that position where he has to yield or crash out against Verstappen.

Verstappen’s racecraft – Too aggressive or a champion-like approach?

Verstappen has developed this reputation of a tough racer and has also faced consequences for the same in his early F1 days. However, it is this aggressive approach that has helped him earn three championships and 61 Grand Prix wins.

So, after colliding with Norris in Austria, there are a myriad of opinions on whether Verstappen is too aggressive or has a champion-like approach. Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok feels that it is the latter.

Chandhok contrasted the Dutchman’s racecraft with that of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, deeming how they “try and get into the minds of their rivals even before they come up side by side wheel to wheel.” Now, there is chatter on how Verstappen went a bit over the line against Norris in Austria.

However, he has also done so previously against the likes of Lewis Hamilton in 2021. The pertinent thing to note is that Verstappen has matured and calmed down a lot since his maiden championship-winning year.

Even Martin Brundle gave a similar balanced opinion on the #1 driver’s moves against Norris. Brundle mentioned how he always has praised Verstappen for maturing over the past few years and learning to play the percentage game in the championship.