Lando Norris has all but admitted that he is not good enough to beat Max Verstappen in the Formula One world championship.
The 24-year-old’s frank admission came ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the season. He is 57 points behind Verstappen and there are still 146 available.
Mathematically, the McLaren man is still in contention, although the odds are heavily stacked against him, having lost ground to the defending champion in last weekend’s race in Austin.
Norris admitted he will need a bit of luck to prevail, saying: “Max is the best in the world at that style of defense and attack, and I will be going up against the best in the world.” Therefore, I need to be on their level, and I am not quite on their level. It’s a shame to say it, but it’s probably the truth.
‘It is an experience for me and I will improve.
Lando Norris has admitted that he is not at the level of his title rival Max Verstappen
Verstappen beat Norris in Austin and the Red Bull star leads the title race with 57 points
Norris stated that he is learning from Verstappen and admits that the Dutchman sets the tone
‘I’m learning from Max. No one can push him to the limit and understand what he can do better than him. About 99 percent of the time he is as on the edge as he can be and is correct.
“It is at the level that every driver should have.”
Norris, who spent free time in California between races, cut a remarkably relaxed figure as he spoke warmly of his closest friend on the grid with a candor that no other potential title challenger in recent memory would have contemplated with the championship still alive.
Lewis Hamilton, for example, would never have let his guard down like this. This is underlined by his reaction to enduring a terrible 2009 in a rotten McLaren. After achieving an unexpected victory in Budapest, his first question was: “How many points am I behind the leader?”
Norris’s modest analysis plays into a persuasive narrative that, despite his speed, he does not possess the killer instinct of a born champion.
The conversation centered on Verstappen’s aggressive but fair pass into the first corner in Austin, where Norris left the Dutchman too much space on the inside in the latest example of his vulnerability when starting from pole.
“There are things he does differently to a title rival than he would treat other drivers,” Norris said. “Clearly, in the first corner he didn’t care if he came in third place. I was very happy that Charles (Leclerc) won.
‘Max runs the way he needs to run and he’s obviously right. It’s up to me to learn how to lead in what he does.’
Norris, on fresher tires, closed in on Verstappen in the closing stages, trying to regain the third place he lost at the start. Four laps from the end, in turn 12, he tried to make the overtake.
Norris’ modest analysis contrasted with Lewis Hamilton’s approach to title fights.
Verstappen made an aggressive but fair move to pass Norris into the first corner in Austin.
He defended impressively against Norris, who was then penalized by the stewards for his pass.
Verstappen, defending like a lion, gave no quarter as Norris pressured him from the outside. They both went off the track. Norris passed, but the stewards deemed he had gained an illegal advantage by completing the move on the wrong side of the white lines.
Despite his admiration for Verstappen, Norris maintains that he was mistreated by the five-second penalty that returned him to fourth position. Without letting the matter go, McLaren filed a right of review claim, citing new evidence.
“Max only got to the top first because he released the brake,” Norris argued. “I still believe I did the right thing by doing what I did.”
As for the future, even though this year’s title is all but lost, Norris declared: “I want to be the one that comes out victorious.”
But not yet.