Norris on racing Verstappen tomorrow: ‘You don't do anything differently’
F1 News
Lando Norris finished second in a difficult qualifying session in his home race. The McLaren driver briefly took provisional pole in Q3, but Max Verstappen quickly took P1 back from the Briton with his final lap.
Norris was clear about the difference between his and Verstappen’s relationship on and off the track. "I think me and Max are very good friends. I guess we've kind of grown up, not exactly together, we've never really raced against each other until Formula 1 but we've grown up in similar generations, similar times. I think we've always got along, I think certain mentalities are similar in terms of we're here because we love it."
Norris continued on what can be expected of the two in tomorrow’s race. "But as soon as you put the helmet on, you kind of forget about everything else and I think we have the correct amount of respect away from the track, where you can get along and be mates."
"When you put the helmet on, there's nothing more than I'm sure he wants to do than just beat everyone and make everyone look silly and the same the opposite way around. You don't do anything differently," the Briton added.
'Not tomorrow, but in the future'
Norris remained composed, and expanded on what he expects from the Dutchman. "I think we have the mentality of you're driving, you forget about everything and off the track, you've got a good amount of respect for each other. So you can keep those two quite separate but I'm sure if Max needs to be aggressive or do things that don't look friendly, then he'll do them."
On the other hand, Norris hopes to achieve a similar level of success in the future. "I'm sure when my time comes, it's probably not going to be tomorrow, but when our time comes that we're racing for things and racing for wins or championships, then I'm sure he'll get put to the test a little bit more."