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Lando Norris has hinted he will be more aggressive when fighting Formula 1 rival Max Verstappen as he feels he has been “avoiding collisions” so far.
Norris and Verstappen have now clashed twice this season, first in their fight for victory in the Austrian Grand Prix and then last week in the United States Grand Prix.
Both times, Norris has come off worse. Their collision at the Red Bull Ring ended with Norris retiring, while at Austin he was hit with a five-second penalty as he overtook Verstappen off-track after the Red Bull driver forced him wide and went off-track himself - a decision McLaren is now trying to overturn.
Norris was only behind Verstappen in the US race after Verstappen had passed him at Turn 1 with another move that forced Norris off-track, but was unpunished - presumably because he kept his own car on the track on that occasion, plus there is usually more leniency afforded on the opening lap.
Reflecting on their controversial battles again on Thursday, ahead of the next race in Mexico, Norris claimed Verstappen is in a “much more powerful position” than he is.
The implication is the onus has been on Norris to avoid contact because Verstappen can afford a collision and take more risks to stay ahead given his championship lead, but Norris also admitted he has not been “quite at the level I need to be at” to beat him in combat.
“Max is very good at what he does and he's probably the best in the world at what he does,” said Norris.
“When I'm going up against the best in the world it's not going to be an easy thing to do.
“He's been racing in this position for longer than I have. I'm definitely not doing a perfect job, but I'm not doing a bad job.
“I'm still staying there, I’m avoiding collisions. A lot of things that we've done could have easily been turned into worse things, like bigger crashes. Races could have easily ended earlier than they have.
“It’s clear what his intentions are. It's a difficult route for me to get around, [and not] getting caught up in collisions, which things like Turn 1 or Turn 12 easily could have been.”
Norris has hinted he may need to get more aggressive against Verstappen as a result. He wouldn’t say so outright, but said he will “adapt a little bit more” because he needs to make some changes to his driving.
Expressing his belief that “Max didn't care if he won, or second or third, his only job was to beat me and he did that”, Norris conceded that in response “there are some little things I need to change, but I don't need to change my whole approach”.
He added: “I'll make the changes that I need to make, whether it's being more aggressive at times or less aggressive or whatever. I'll do what I think is right.”
A bolder stance from Norris may be all he can do to reshape the power imbalance in his on-track rivalry with Verstappen. Right now, Verstappen has the edge – and knows it. He has a points advantage and a successful track record of winning these duels with Norris without being penalised.
But if Norris stops, in his words, “avoiding collisions”, he could potentially benefit from Verstappen being punished if the stewards rule he caused a clash. He might also send a message that he will not be the one who moves aside anymore.
What complicates that is the championship context works against Norris, not just in terms of his drivers’ championship deficit but also McLaren is seeking to win the constructors’ title.
It would be McLaren’s first championship win since 2008. McLaren has a 40-point lead over Red Bull but Ferrari is only eight points further behind, so if Norris were to retire from a race or lose positions because of a collision with Verstappen while trying to be more aggressive, the cost would be greater.
Norris will need to find a way to shift his approach because the on-track fights will not stop. He and Verstappen are regularly fighting at the front, and if it is not relevant to this year’s title battle it could be next year, when Norris and McLaren will expect to challenge for both championships again.
Plus, Verstappen will not change his stance. He remains completely unfussed about the narrative around racing rules sparked by his defence against Norris, and dismissed any hint of criticism on Thursday in Mexico.
Put to Verstappen that some critics felt he was not trying to make the corner at Austin and was only seeking to be ahead at the apex so he could – by the letter of the law – run Norris off track at the exit, he replied: "It's quite impressive that people can read my mind.
“It's crazy. I mean, I always tried to make the corner. I didn't want to look for a shortcut.
“I don't even know what to answer to these people.”
In Verstappen’s view, he and Norris only want to “race each other hard” - he does not believe he is aggressive. He also disagreed with Mercedes driver George Russell’s claim that Verstappen is racing Norris differently – and by that, he means more aggressively – because he’s the direct rival.
“At the end of the day he should just speak for himself,” Verstappen said. But Russell, who compared it to when Verstappen was fighting Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 title, might have a point.
“It was a bit do or die,” said Russell. “And I think he’s quite happy to drive in that manner against your title rival - which for me, I totally understand.”
Verstappen holds such power over Norris when they go wheel-to-wheel at the moment that he can afford to do this. And his natural style of racing will always veer towards the aggressive side anyway.
That’s a difficult combination for Norris to try to counter.
