Lando Norris has all but conceded that he is not good enough to beat Max Verstappen to the Formula One world championship.
The 24-year-old’s frank admission came ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, the fifth-from-last round of the season. He trails Verstappen by 57 points with 146 still available.
Mathematically, the McLaren man remains in contention, though the odds are heavily stacked against him, having lost ground to the defending champion at last weekend’s race in Austin.
Admitting he will need a big slice of luck to prevail, Norris said: ‘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. Therefore, I need to be at his level, and I’m not quite at his level. It is a shame to say but it is probably the truth.
‘It’s an experience for me and get better.
Lando Norris has conceded he is not quite at the level of his title rival Max Verstappen
Verstappen gained on Norris in Austin and the Red Bull star leads the title race by 57 points
Norris claimed he is learning from Verstappen and admits the Dutchman sets the standard
‘I’m learning from Max. Nobody can push it to the limits and understand what he can do better than him. About 99 per cent of the time he’s as on the limit as he can be and correct.
‘He’s at the standard every driver needs to be at.’
Norris, who spent downtime in California between races, cut a remarkably relaxed figure as he spoke warmly of his closest pal on the grid with a candour no other potential title challenger of recent memory would have contemplated with the championship still alive.
Lewis Hamilton, for one, would never have let his guard down in this way. That is underlined by his reaction when enduring a terrible 2009 in a rotten McLaren. After pulling off an unexpected victory in Budapest, his first question was: ‘How many points am I off the lead?’
Norris’s self-effacing analysis plays into a persuasive narrative that, for all his speed, he does not possess the killer instinct of a born champion.
Conversation turned to Verstappen’s aggressive – but fair – pass at the first corner in Austin, where Norris left the Dutchman too much room on the inside in the latest example of his vulnerability when starting on pole.
‘There are things he does differently to a title rival from how he would treat other drivers,’ said Norris. ‘Clearly, into turn one he didn’t care if he came out in third place. He was quite happy that Charles (Leclerc) won.
‘Max races in the way that he needs to race, and obviously he’s correct. It’s up to me to learn how to drive around what he does.’
Norris, on fresher rubber, closed on Verstappen in the closing stages, trying to wrest back the third place he lost at the start. Four laps from the end, at Turn 12, he tried to make the overtake stick.
Norris’s self-effacing analysis was a contrast to Lewis Hamilton’s approach in title fights
Verstappen produced an aggressive but fair move to pass Norris at the first corner in Austin
He defended impressively from Norris, who was then penalised for his pass by the stewards
Verstappen, defending like a lion, gave no quarter as Norris pressed him on the outside. They both ran off the track. Norris passed but was deemed by the stewards to have gained an illegal advantage by completing the move the wrong side of the white lines.
Despite his admiration for Verstappen, Norris maintains that he was ill-treated by the five-second penalty which put him back to fourth. Not letting the matter rest, McLaren have submitted a right of review claim, citing new evidence.
‘Max only made it to the apex first because he got off the brakes,’ argued Norris. ‘I still believe that I was in the right doing what I did.’
As for the future, even if the title this year is practically written off, Norris declared: ‘I want to be the one that comes out on top.’
Just not yet.