F1 News
Is Norris too tame with Verstappen? 'He's just a different character'
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has responded to comments suggesting that Lando Norris is too tame in his battles with Max Verstappen. After George Russell and the Dutchman's public spat, the American was asked by Sky Sports if his driver would give into Verstappen more than Russell, who has very clearly hit back at Verstappen's words as the two continue to engage in a fight. Brown believes that Norris instead does his talking 'on the track', and will continue to do that.
Norris and Verstappen have had their fair share of run-ins this season. The first notable battle came in Austria, when the pair collided fighting for the race lead as neither wanted to concede position. The McLaren driver was forced to retire due to damage, and Verstappen dropped off the podium. Another example came in Mexico, as Verstappen was deemed to have pushed Norris off the circuit twice, being slapped with a 20-second time penalty. There were others this season, too, and more action between the pair is almost guaranteed for 2025.
Last week in Qatar, Max Verstappen was given a one-place grid penalty after a close call with George Russell in qualifying. The Dutchman lost the pole, and it was inherited by Russell, since their steward's meeting, the pair have been clear in their current dislike for each other.
Is Lando Norris too tame?
Speaking to Sky Sports, Brown said: "Yeah, I think we've seen him race Max really hard. Lando's a different type of character. I think what he's going to do is talk on the track versus making a lot of comments off the track. That's the nature. So I think he's learning how to race Max. He raced them pretty hard but also knew that he wasn't going to be given a lot of space, so I'm glad he was able to avoid incidents, but I think that's something he's going to have to decide how he wants to race Max next year," Brown stated. Norris was engaged in a title battle with Max Verstappen this season, but the Dutchman sowed it up in Las Vegas. A stunning performance in Brazil was the nail in the coffin for Norris, as Verstappen won from P17 on the grid.
'Business as usual' at McLaren:
McLaren are 21 points in front of Ferrari and are looking for their first constructors title since 1998. Despite the pressure, Brown is sure that his team are approaching the weekend in the right way. "We're trying to ignore it's a big race weekend, which I think is going really well for the team, me a little bit less so. But I think what's important is we just go racing as we've gone racing for the last 23 races. The minute we try and do something differently, I think that would be a mistake, so we're just treating it like any other weekend, of course, paying attention to the red cars, and we'll see where the race plays out. We'll be racing for a championship, but right now, it's business as usual." He concluded.
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