Lando Norris doubts his chances at the win? 'Know how hard it's to pass Max'

On the buildup to the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, Lando Norris looks to the race with uncertainty, as he relies on McLaren's strengths to fight a 'hard to pass' Max Verstappen for the win.

"It's a tricky one. we don't know what the conditions are going to do yet. It's still going to rain potentially a little bit. It's a lot drier on the left side than it is on my side, so it could be a rolling start at the minute", said Norris on F1TV.

'I know how hard it is to pass Verstappen'

While the Briton has a clear target for the first stages of the race, it will be no easy feat. "I want to get past Max as quickly as I can, but I know how hard it is to get past Max in the first place."

"I think in the early laps Max will be very quick, but our strength is probably a little bit more in the long run. I think maybe we sacrificed a bit too much yesterday [the] quali pace, for the race pace. But again, time will tell. I think we're prepared. We know our race pace is strong. It has been all year. And hopefully that continues today."

Norris and Piastri to work together to pass Verstappen

When asked about his teammate Oscar Piastri and if they will race each other, the Briton then reveals a potential plan to overthrow Verstappen: "We both want to get past Max, we'll see if we can help each other out to get past Max. That's the obvious one."

However, the Briton doesn't want to get ahead of himself. "Like I said, long race, many things can happen. Rain is expected [for] the race, so, many opportunities for both of us."

Regarding the weather in Japan, Norris highlights the uncertainty that clouts the paddock in terms of what 'the sky will do'.

"It doesn't matter what we think [the conditions will be] at the minute. It matters what the sky does. Like I said, it's going to rain and if it's raining we put the inters on, if it's dry we put the slicks on. That's all we know for now."