Lando Norris: “Verstappen is the most willing to push the limits” in title battle

McLaren’s Lando Norris is entering his first Formula 1 season as a bookmaker’s favourite for the drivers’ championship. Last year there was a strong shift in the dominance we saw from Red Bull in 2023 as the Briton secured four wins and eight pole positions. But while Norris was exceptional, he still didn’t manage to beat his rival Max Verstappen.

Following his breakthrough season, Norris was asked about what he’d learnt from his racing alongside the reigning champion. He admitted that if he was battling someone other than Verstappen, it likely wouldn’t have been as hard, adding that he is most willing to “push the boundaries.”

“ I think I learned two big things. One was, I clearly wasn’t quite ready to deliver on everything that they needed me to deliver on from a racing point of view. And that’s just because racing against Max is a unique situation and you don’t get to experience it in any other way of life until you really get to that point. And I think had it been a battle against different drivers, it probably wouldn’t have been as hard.

“And I think that’s probably a fair assessment because I do think Max will be the hardest guy to race against. He’s always going to be the one who’s going to be most willing to push the limits and push the boundaries like he did. So I learned that aspect of Max and I also learned where I stood in that situation, which was not at the right level.”

Fans could see Norris’ confidence and race craft evolve as he continued to drive from the front of the grid – something he noticed himself.

“And I learned from those things. And I think already into the last couple of races I improved on a lot of those situations, but every situation is different in Formula 1. So, you know, even if some of them happen again, it’s not always a guarantee I’ll make the right decision, and Max will make the right decision, or any other driver will make the right decision. So it’s a tough one because you don’t make those decisions now, you have to make them on track, half a second before it happens. You don’t have a lot of time to think about the whole situation, so I’m just excited to have another crack at it and see what I can do, and go up against any driver.

“I don’t think I’m just going to be racing against Max this year. I think it’s going to be Charles and Lewis, it’s going to be Oscar, it’s going to be both Red Bull drivers and Mercedes drivers too, you know? So I look forward to all of the battles. And of course the more wars that can be on track between others, the better for us, but, I don’t expect that to happen too much, you know?”

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix will be the first real measure of whether Norris’ lessons from 2024 have been translated into the improved race craft to challenge for the title. Melbourne was the Papaya driver’s debut race in 2019, and in 2024 he secured a podium behind Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. He should be going into this weekend with confidence.