Max Verstappen expects “many more battles” with Lando Norris
Max Verstappen is anticipating more close duels with his friend, Lando Norris, after overtaking him for the title this year. Next season could see the two drivers face off on the track again.
After his title,Max Verstappen said he expects to have many more battles with his rival and friend in Formula 1, Lando Norris.
The Red Bull driver finished fifth, just ahead of Lando Norris, during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, thus securing his fourth consecutive world title with two races left in the season. Max Verstappen concluded the race with an insurmountable 63-point lead over Lando Norris, who proved to be his closest competitor throughout the year.
We have a lot of amazing young talents in this sport, and Lando is clearly one of them. And of course, at times, he really made things difficult for me, said the Dutchman.
« We simply did not have an answer in many races where they were clearly faster. So, it made things difficult. But to win a championship, you have to be consistent. Sometimes, we try to overperform. It doesn’t happen every weekend, but sometimes we succeed. And that’s what we did. But obviously, McLaren is extremely strong right now. And of course, I have known Lando for a long time already. So, racing against a friend for the title is always a bit different.
« But I believe that we have a lot of respect for each other. And yes, I am sure we will have many more battles to come.
Lando Norris put Max Verstappen in danger
When asked if he ever thought that Lando Norris had better chances of winning the title, Max Verstappen replied: “I would say that from Miami onwards, most of the time, we were no longer the fastest. And Miami still comes quite early in the season.”
« So, you know, 50 points, 60 points, that can very easily be turned around if you keep maximizing the results and don’t do anything crazy. I mean, I myself experienced this, with a 30 or 40 point deficit, I believe in 2022. »
(e) Everything is possible, so I always kept that in mind. But at the same time, I focused only on what I could control within the team and I gave my all every weekend.
Max Verstappen added that he expects next season to be a real battle between many cars, but I’m hungry.
