Lando Norris critiques Verstappen, asserting he knows his behavior breaches racing norms, while Norris defends his commitment to fair play.
Lando Norris stated that Max Verstappen “knows the changes he needs to make” in response to the penalties he received at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen twice forced Norris off track within a few corners at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last weekend, earning two 10-second penalties.
Norris, who climbed to second place to close the gap to Verstappen to 47 points, said after the race that he wanted his rival to acknowledge he had crossed the line.
Though the two haven’t discussed the incident, the Briton is confident that the Red Bull driver knows his maneuvers went beyond what is deemed acceptable.
“We haven’t talked,” Norris said in Brazil. “I don’t think we need to. I have nothing to say.”
“I have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does. No respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and for his achievements.”
“But it’s not up to me to talk to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor or anything like that. Max knows what he needs to do, he knows he acted wrongly. Deep down, he knows he’s behaving badly; that’s the case, and it’s up to him to change, not me.”
Verstappen has not publicly expressed a desire to adjust his approach, but Norris is adamant that his title rival understands he must adapt to avoid further penalties.
“It’s not something I need to talk about with Max. Max is probably one of the most skilled drivers on the grid, if not the most. And he knows what he can and can’t do and where the limits lie. So he knows the changes he needs to make.”
Norris reiterated his hope to have a clean fight with Verstappen this weekend in Brazil, though he noted that such an outcome would not depend on him.
“I think the stewards did a good job. They have a very difficult task, but they did well. I think 99% of people who watch Formula 1 and know Formula 1 would agree with that. We’re satisfied on our side. I stayed out of trouble and did my job as well.”
“But every weekend is a new weekend, right? I don’t know what to expect this weekend. Obviously, I hope for a cleaner battle than we had. It’s not in my hands.”
“I don’t make the rules. I don’t decide on penalties. I just drive, and the stewards do the rest, and they did a good job.”
Norris explained that he wasn’t going to change his approach with Verstappen and felt he had held his ground well in contentious moments on track.
He admitted he may have paid the price for a lack of aggression in certain scenarios, but that the points he gained by staying clean in races still added up.
“What I’ve done well throughout my career is staying out of trouble and keeping the car in one piece. All these little things add up over a championship and a season, especially in a series with a budget cap.”
“I’ve always had the mindset of wanting to race fairly and cleanly. I think I said it last weekend too, that maybe I was too nice, whether attacking or defending. But I think I’ve always made good decisions in that regard.”
“Sometimes, I’ve paid the price for not being aggressive enough, but the rest isn’t up to me. Even if it’s not obvious, there are moments when you have to avoid a potential accident, and maybe you don’t see that on TV.”
“There are more moments than people realize when you navigate certain situations. And I think those are some of the challenges we face from time to time. But I’ll approach this weekend with a new expectation, that of a clean and fair race. And I think that’s what we should expect.”
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Norris Claims Verstappen Knows His Actions Crossed the Line Norris Claims Verstappen Knows His Actions Crossed the Line
