The season-long title battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris could see an early end, as the Dutchman stands a chance of clinching it in Las Vegas.
Norris and Verstappen are separated by 62 points in the title race after the McLaren driver dropped points in Brazil, following a sublime effort from the Red Bull driver to climb up from 17th on the grid.
Verstappen only needs to outscore Norris to clinch the title, which means the odds are effectively stacked against McLaren if Red Bull can get a good start to the weekend.
It is likely the team is focusing more on the Constructors’ battle with Ferrari, as it looks like they could be strong having nearly won the race last year with Charles Leclerc.
The two title rivals have had their fair share of controversies this season, most recently coming at the Mexico GP where Verstappen was handed two 10-second time penalties for his overly defensive moves on Norris.
Discussing the rivalry this season on the ESPN Unlapped podcast, journalist Lawrence Edmundson believes the pair’s previous friendship has taken a ‘bit of a battering’ as a result of their on-track battles.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris friendship take a ‘hit’ after Mexico GP
The Mexico GP was a turning point in the title battle between the two, as it showed Verstappen was unwilling to yield position to Norris without risking contact.
The pair had collided earlier in the season at the Austrian GP and Norris said he talked it over with Verstappen, but no such thing happened after Mexico.
While the two are still friendly in press conferences, it has no doubt put a strain on their relationship on track according to Edmundson.
“I think their relationship has taken a bit of a battering in the second half of the year. After the Mexico stuff where Max forced Lando off track, they didn’t have a conversation after that,” said Edmundson.
“Then after Austria they did have a conversation, because Lando was very surprised by what Max did when he crashed into him and the stewards enquiry afterwards. It think it took a bit of hit there, and since then the intensity of the title battle has made it hard for them to be decent buddies.”
Lando Norris must adopt same ruthlessness as Nico Rosberg did against Lewis Hamilton
Parallels in the battle between Norris and Verstappen have been drawn with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who both went up against each other in the 2014, 2015 and 2016 title battles at Mercedes.
Both Rosberg and Hamilton grew up with each other in motorsport having competed against eachother in go-karting and while it started off friendly, things quickly turned personal.
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Rosberg realised that he was up against a ruthless Hamilton and needed to adopt similar tactics if he wanted to win the title, which eventually enabled him to win it in 2016.
Norris has been told to do the same thing as Rosberg by paddock insiders if he wants to beat Verstappen next year, when it is looking like it could be a continuation of this year’s competitive order.
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