Why Lando Norris must harness his inner Max Verstappen to actually beat him

Lando Norris must emulate facets of Max Verstappen’s aggression if he is to come out on top of this year’s title fight.

McLaren wasn’t quite as on the boil in Austin as they’d grown accustomed to prior to the break, but Lando Norris didn’t capitalise upon his opportunities as much as he could have.

Does Lando Norris have the ‘X factor’ that Max Verstappen possesses?

Ever since the Miami Grand Prix, the question mark over McLaren has been whether its MCL38 is the fastest car on the grid. There have been races where this has been undeniable – such as at Zandvoort, the Hungaroring, and Singapore – while other races have seen McLaren vying with Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari over victories and podium places.

A safe assumption would be that the MCL38 is the most versatile on the grid, and capable of being the outright fastest.

Certainly, one gets the impression it’s been the quicker car throughout most of this year than the Red Bull RB20 as the development path of the Milton Keynes-based squad led them astray to the point where Max Verstappen has even struggled for podiums.

McLaren’s position has been that its dominance at certain tracks was viewed internally as being the exception rather than the norm, but another safe assumption would be that, on most occasions, the MCL38 has been in contention for victory.

But the US Grand Prix was the first in a while in which McLaren never really looked in contention for the victory. Beaten by Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in the Sprint, Norris bounced back to take pole position but was powerless to prevent a Ferrari 1-2 as the race pace of the SF-24 proved too much for either McLaren or Red Bull.

With Red Bull putting in its most competitive weekend since Spain, there was no white flag raising from Verstappen like as what happened at Zandvoort two months ago as he offered zero defence against Norris down the main straight.

Despite Norris quickly catching him, armed with fresher tyres, DRS, and Verstappen’s unhappiness with the handling of his RB20 in race trim, the reigning World Champion put in a defensive drive reminiscent of his battle with Lewis Hamilton at the same venue in 2021. It was a masterclass in defence from Verstappen, having pounced on Norris into Turn 1 with a trademark aggressive move at the start of the race.

It’s been one of the prevailing topics of the F1 2024 season – does Norris have the final secret ingredient that marks out the very best, the elite and exceptional, from those who are ‘merely’ top-class racing drivers?

There’s no doubt that Norris is every bit as fast and deft behind the wheel as Verstappen is. But, while Verstappen is proven as a merciless and ruthless racer, with 2021 confirming his ability to handle relentless psychological warfare amidst an inter-team battle that became increasingly hostile to the point of being unpalatable, Norris simply is not.

The pressures of F1 2024 for Red Bull and Verstappen are comparably minor compared to what they’ve faced in the not-too-distant past, suggesting the squad is not being knocked off its stride by its own missteps and errors, and nor does it seem the furore around the bib ride height might – if there isn’t any more on the matter to be discovered.

But a key area where Verstappen and Norris differ is in Norris’ belief – as all F1 drivers have – that he is the best, and can win the championship if the circumstances allow. But Verstappen is unwavering in his knowledge that he is the best and, if the circumstances allow, will deliver – the possibility of someone else being better than him appears a concept alien to him. He is the alpha silverback gorilla of the grid, unwavering in his own self-belief and confidence in his abilities.

It’s a formidable weapon in his repertoire and, while most teams have a driver pairing that can waver from one side of the garage to the other as to who performs more strongly on any given weekend, Verstappen’s genuine performance deficits to his teammates are distinctly isolated.

There’s also the extra psychological bonus for Verstappen in that, due to his points lead and the dwindling number of races, he can afford to collide with Norris – he will be the only beneficiary of Norris failing to score points. It’s an additional hurdle for Norris on the mental front – a front on which he can be guilty of being weaker than Verstappen as he admonishes himself through the media.

Helmut Marko’s comments questioning Norris’ temperament may not have gone down well with CEO Zak Brown over the weekend, but the Austrian does possess a sharp sense for detecting when a driver is made of the right stuff. His comments alone, perhaps intended as a harmless observation rather a pressure-building barb, do nothing but add to the weight of expectation upon Norris – an expectation that has been growing ever since Miami when McLaren’s MCL38 came alive as F1’s most versatile car.

All the odds were stacked in Norris’ favour in the showdown in Texas as he stalked Verstappen but, having managed to get a sniff of an opportunity, squandered it by disregarding one of the most basic rules of all – don’t overtake off the track. A stance that his team agreed with, unshakeable in its interpretation that it was Verstappen, not Norris, who was deserving of a penalty.

There were no errors from Verstappen during this period of intense pressure. No lock-ups, no slides, he simply soaked it up, lap after lap. Contrast that to Norris locking up and sailing wide at Turn 1 the instant Carlos Sainz was behind him during the Sprint, a costly error which almost allowed Charles Leclerc to nip past him as well.

All in all, Norris is up against a monster. While the Red Bull may not be the all-conquering machine it once was, the British driver trying to wrest a title away from someone who has no discernible weaknesses, a driver whose aggression can be viewed as borderline unacceptable even when within the accepted rules. A driver who, in machinery that isn’t definitively slower simply will not let you pass and has shown a willingness to collide if you try.

Verstappen, like Ayrton Senna did over 30 years ago, has simply struck fear into the hearts of his competitors. Leclerc and Hamilton are the only drivers to show, so far, that they won’t be cowed by this, but Norris is yet to show that he can do the same. Austria was a step in the right direction as he showed his anger with Verstappen in the immediate aftermath of the race, but the Dutch driver’s plaintive comments about how his friendship with Norris was all he was concerned with softened the aftermath. To the point where, just a few days later, Norris had completely rowed back on his calls for an apology from Verstappen.

Was it a genuine moment of Verstappen’s ruthless racing side softening? Almost definitely – Verstappen has proven himself a brutally honest and genuine character over his decade in F1. But did his pleading for the preservation of his friendship with Norris have the side effect of dampening the spark of vengeance in Norris? It appears it did.

Verstappen is battle-hardened, having spent years fighting Hamilton in a car lesser than the Mercedes, and is able to handle the weight of repercussions for incidents and accidents – Norris is discovering all of this for the first time, at a team that is still trying to portray the image of being a happy family, an outfit brimmed full of bonhomie and togetherness. It’s in stark contrast to the cutthroat racing business model upon which Red Bull, and Verstappen, have built their success.

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Is Lando Norris in danger of being usurped by Oscar Piastri?

As I wrote earlier in the year, Norris’ only chance is to harness the same mentality – adopt the mindset of Verstappen and forget about friendship, forget about everything – including his own team harmony – except for looking out for number one. It may feel unnatural to him, it may not be an attitude that sits well on his shoulders but, if Verstappen is to be beaten in near-equal machinery, it’s Norris’ only shot without finding more speed.

Had Norris held out against his team’s pleading in Hungary to release Piastri, he’d be seven points closer. If Piastri had been definitely told to stay behind Norris in Italy and defend, that could have been another 10 points. For the Constructors’ Championship, it was the right call. For the Drivers’, it clearly was not.

In contrast, Verstappen – having already won the 2022 title – wouldn’t even give up a meaningless sixth place in Brazil to help Sergio Perez’s ailing bid for the runner-up position in the championship, and simply publicly cut off the conversation by saying he had “made himself clear” on the topic. It’s an attitude that divides viewers into the love him or hate him camp, but it’s an attitude which is indicative of that aforementioned self-belief.

Now add to Norris’ worries that this may well be his only shot, even if McLaren does continue to be competitive or the benchmark in F1 2025. It has taken long enough for McLaren to row in behind him as Piastri’s own dreams were taken into account this year, a position which has cost Norris dearly, and the Australian has shown he has the same calm presence of mind that could make him a Verstappen-toppler when his chance comes.

Give Verstappen a title rival who is unabashedly unconcerned by earning his respect or his friendship, a rival willing to deal with him in as aggressive a fashion as Verstappen engages, and the Dutch driver will have met his match on the psychological front – just as Hamilton proved in 2021.

Norris, on his weakening quest for this year’s title, must be willing to sacrifice all semblance of a relationship with Verstappen if he is to have any hope of defeating him, or McLaren will simply move on to the next opportunity and the driver who can. It may be too late for this season but, if defeat does come, Norris will have some soul-searching to do over the winter to come back with a renewed sense of aggression.

In his second year, Piastri has been less consistent than Norris but his highs have been equally impressive. He shows the mental capacity to deal with stressful situations, which Norris has struggled with in the past, and an unflappability when under pressure from big names – as he proved even in his first year as he held Max Verstappen off to win the Qatar sprint.

With the championships reset for F1 2025, might it be Piastri who becomes McLaren’s favoured son next season?

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