Could Verstappen still miss out on the title thanks to Norris? He answers
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- Ludo van Denderen
It certainly was not easy in Imola, but he did win. In Monaco too, Max Verstappen expects a tough race weekend. According to the Dutchman, both Ferraris and McLarens are bound to give him and his Red Bull Racing a hard time on the narrow street circuit. Yet too worried about missing out, Verstappen does not seem to need to worry at the moment. His lead over number two Charles Leclerc is currently 48 points.
Lando Norris, however, revealed this week that he does hope to keep the pressure on Verstappen in order to have a shot at the title. A good attitude from his McLaren colleague, Verstappen believes. "I think everyone should think like that, especially I think after their last two races, they are really in the mix. Of course, they are quite a few points down at the moment. But, if you suddenly start winning, then it can turn around quite quickly.."
Verstappen will not change his approach because of Norris' sudden emergence. "From our side, we just keep on trying to improve our package. My approach has always been the same. That doesn't matter about anyone else involved or another team involved. We just have to focus on ourselves, because that's the only thing that we can control."
'Red Bull not on ideal circuits for a while'
Moreover, Verstappen later said in conversation with Dutch media, including GPblog: "Recently we have been driving on circuits with relatively little tyre wear and that is not to our advantage," said the Dutchman, who prefers races where two pit stops have to be made. "Then many teams struggle to keep the tyres together, especially at the rear. China is one of those circuits where wear is higher, though, and there I would have won by 30 seconds without safety cars. And I think a lot of circuits at the beginning of the season have not been ideal for us."