Lando Norris is not afraid to take on highly rated three-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen, in fact, the “self-critical and big over-thinking” McLaren Formula 1 driver revealed how he relishes the challenge of taking on the best.
Both are considered the elite of the next generation of drivers set to dominate the sport, 24-year-old Norris and 26-year-old Verstappen as their long-term deals with Red Bull and McLaren, respectively, testify. Their teams know they are hot properties in F1.
During an in-depth interview with The Guardian, before the Japanese Grand Prix, Norris spoke about his rival and F1 benchmark driver Max Verstappen: “I am not afraid in any way of Max, I’m excited to be against him.
“People rate Max up with the best, so I would like to prove myself by going up against that. I look forward to being able to battle him, but genuinely for position and not have him half a second a lap quicker and just drive past me,” explained Norris.
Timing has been kind to Verstappen, at 26 he already has three F1 titles and a fourth, this year, is a foregone conclusion. Red Bull are on a dominant streak last seen when Mercedes dominated with Lewis Hamilton for the better part of a decade.
Verstappen has 57 F1 victories, Lando has still to score one
At the same age of 24, Max had already bagged his first F1 title (2021) and a 35-times Grand Prix winner. But this does not deter Norris who is still seeking a maiden win in the top flight. Even his rookie teammate at McLaren, last year, Oscar Piastri scored a win albeit a Sprint Race.
He said: “I believe I can achieve a championship at McLaren, that’s why I signed another contract. I absolutely think I can go up against Max and give him a good challenge. But I also rate Max, so for anyone, it’s extremely difficult to go up against Max in his team and challenge him for a world championship.
“He could have moved to Mercedes back in the day and gone up against Lewis [Hamilton] but would it have been a smart idea to have done that? Probably not and he probably wouldn’t be in a Red Bull now and it would be a different story<” reckoned Norris.
Of himself, Norris revealed: “I am a big overthinker, I do think a lot about different scenarios good and bad, and I am absolutely critical of myself. I talk with my brain a lot. I am always in my head. It’s not that I don’t know how to focus, I am very good at thinking about many different things, at being able to focus on what I need to focus on.”
Norris: I feel in the best place I have ever felt
Norris continued: “It’s more that I think a lot about certain things and I am not happy until I have an answer to whatever that issue or problem is. I am self-critical and I know it can look bad from the outside, absolutely. I watch my own interviews and I look so annoyed and unhappy.
“It’s because my mind is whirling, I’m thinking: ‘Why did I make a mistake? What would happen if I did this or that? What if I had tried something else? But I set high goals for myself, I know what I am capable of, I want to try to achieve great things and I am not going to do that by being complacent.
“I feel on top of everything I can be in control of. “I’ve made a conscious effort of trying to find more improvement. To work on my weaknesses, of getting in the gym a little bit more, making better decisions. Little things along the way which add up over a whole season. I feel in the best place I have ever felt,” declared Norris.
Next up for F1 and of course Norris is the return of the Chinese Grand Prix, where Lando has only raced once before. The third race of his F1 career, as a McLaren rookie back in 2019.
Big Question: Is Lando Norris as good as Max Verstappen?
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