The next round of the World Cup fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will take place in Brazil this weekend. However, there has not yet been a clarifying conversation with his opponent following recent incidents in Mexico, as the McLaren driver reveals upon his arrival in Sao Paulo on Thursday:
“No, we haven’t spoken. I don’t think we have to either. I have nothing to say,” said Norris, who clarified: “I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does – no respect for him what he did last weekend – but respect for him as a person and what he has achieved.”
The Brit also thinks: “It’s not up to me to talk to him. I’m not his teacher, I’m not his mentor or anything like that. Max knows what he has to do. He also knows that he’s wrong deep down he does. And it’s up to him to change, not me.”
Norris: “Sometimes not aggressive enough, but…”
Clear words from Norris, who still doesn’t believe that anything has changed in the relationship between him and Verstappen: “Not that I know about it. I haven’t talked to Max. That’s nothing I need to talk to Max about, he is probably one of the most capable drivers in the field, if not the most capable. He knows what he can and can’t do and what the limits are. So, he knows the changes he has to make.
The McLaren driver himself doesn’t want to change anything about his attitude or driving style. “I think something I’ve done well throughout my career is staying out of trouble and keeping the car in one piece. All those little things add up, over a World Championship and a season, especially with the budget cap,” explains Norris.
“But I think that I always had the mentality to race fairly and cleanly. And sometimes, as I said last weekend, I was on the too nice side, regardless of whether I was defending myself or attacking.” Overall, he is happy with the decisions he made, although Norris admits: “Sometimes I paid the price for not being aggressive enough, but the rest is not up to me.”
Norris certifies the stewards “good job”
The Briton has full confidence in the rule keepers: “I think the stewards did a good job. I mean, they have a very difficult job, but they did a good job,” he says, referring to Mexico. and adds: “I think 99 percent of people who watch Formula 1 and know Formula 1 agree.”
In any case, McLaren is happy with the result: “We stayed out of trouble and I did my job. But every weekend is a new one, so I don’t know what to expect this weekend,” says Norris: “Of course I expect and hope for a cleaner fight than the one we had.”
Nevertheless, he is aware: “But that’s not my fault, I don’t make the rules or decide the penalties. I just drive, the stewards do the rest, and they did a good job.” But now everything starts all over again in Sao Paulo: “I’m coming into this weekend expecting that we’ll hopefully have a clean and fair race. That’s what we should expect,” hopes Norris.
Source: www.sport.de
