Lando Norris reveals how Max Verstappen’s aggressive style forces him into safer choices, even when he knows he’s in the right.
Lando Norris does not believe Max Verstappen has bad intentions toward him or his rivals when he makes moves that are often beyond the acceptable limit. According to the McLaren F1 driver, his Red Bull rival believes what he does is within the rules.
“I don’t think he’s done anything wrong towards me,” says Norris. “He’s raced me very, very hard, which he has the right to do. He has made life very, very difficult for me at times. And he has the right to do that.”
“I’ve said it many times, I have a lot of respect for Max. The driver he is, the person he is, what he represents all the time. And what he has achieved, his four world championships.”
“That’s four more than me, and he’s won a lot more races than I have. I admire those statistics, those performances. But at the same time, everyone does what they believe is best. Everyone does what they believe is right. And they race for themselves.”
“Some may be more aggressive than others. But everyone has flaws. I do. Maybe he does too. I race in the aggressive way I believe is right, and he does the same. It’s up to the stewards to decide what is right or wrong.”
Max Verstappen explained last year that he would not “let himself be passed around the outside,” which often leads to short-lived battles that end at the first corner, while other drivers manage to race cleanly and accept being overtaken. Norris admits that Verstappen’s crash-threat pressure works.
“When you are racing for wins, championships, against the best in the world, you can never expect things to be easy. In karting, you learn that you can’t easily pass around the outside. That’s rule number one.”
“But it can be done, and it is done. But the number one goal for us is always to finish. Sometimes, when you push too much, things can go wrong. You can end up not finishing the race, even if you are in the right. So sometimes you have to go for a safer approach.”
Despite some self-doubt, the Briton insists he still believes he can be the best on track: “It’s a tough question. I really believe I am the best driver. Maybe not on any day, not every day.”
“I believe I can drive faster and perform better than anyone else on the grid. But it’s very, very hard to perform at that level consistently, regardless of the conditions, the car you’re in, and the opponent.”
“That can be the more defining factor. I sometimes struggle to admit it and to say it. But I wouldn’t be racing in Formula 1, I wouldn’t be fighting for a world championship, if I didn’t truly believe deep down that I could be the best in the world.”
