Lando Norris made a bold admission ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Lando Norris has admitted that he is ‘not at the level’ of Max Verstappen yet as the pair continue to battle for the Drivers’ Championship title heading into the final five races of the season.
The British driver headed into last weekend’s United States Grand Prix with momentum on his side following a strong run of results, but a resurgent Verstappen finished ahead of him in both the sprint and Sunday’s race, extending his points lead to 57.
That deficit now means that Norris’ task is a daunting one. He must outscore Verstappen by over 11 points per race on average, and fight off the threat of Ferrari and Mercedes in the process.
With the odds stacked against him, Norris made some honest remarks ahead of Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix. “Max is the best in the world in that style of defence and attack, and I’m going up against the best in the world,” he said.
“So, therefore, I need to be at his level, and I’m not quite at his level. Which is a shame to say but is probably the truth. But it’s an experience for me and I can learn and get better. I want to be the one that comes out on top. I believe I rightfully was but the penalty changed everything.”
He later added: “I’m trying to beat Max, he’s raced against Lewis [Hamilton] for championships in these environments that build pressure, more than I have.
“But I’m learning and I’m doing the best I can, but I want to win, I want to be successful and I want to beat Max so I won’t be happy until I do that.”
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