Lando Norris labels Max Verstappen the ‘hardest attacking-defensive’ driver on the grid

Lando Norris didn't hesitate to acknowledge his shortcomings in the drivers' title battle against Max Verstappen in the 2024 season.

Lando Norris labels Max Verstappen the ‘hardest attacking-defensive’ driver on the grid

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen produced a chaotic battle for the drivers’ championship in the 2024 season. Despite McLaren’s dominant pace, Norris couldn’t bridge the gap enough to Verstappen for the title. As he set to rekindle the tussle in the 2025 season, the Briton talked highly of the reigning world champion’s driving style.

Max Verstappen collided with Lando Norris on multiple occasions throughout the 2024 season, during their heated tussles for race wins. The Dutchman’s controversial driving choices against Norris, raised a lot of eyebrows in the racing community, though it was expected of his considering he is notoriously known for his hard racing. Being the Red Bull drivers’ close friend, Norris understood the borderline rule-breaking driving of his rival in the underperforming RB20.

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Norris acknowledged that he wasn’t on Verstappen’s level to win the drivers’ title. The 25-year-old insisted that the Dutchman was one of the ‘hardest attacking-defensive’ drivers on the grid. The Briton recalled the Mexican GP where the 27-year-old ‘sacrificed’ his racing and received a massive penalty, just to benefit in the end.

I wasn’t simply quite at the level that I need to be to race against Max. But when we’re talking about that, we’re talking about probably going up against one of the hardest attacking-defence guys you can ever go up against. Like we saw in Mexico, very willingly sacrificed himself for the benefit of the overall outcome.

Lando Norris told Sky Sports.

Lando Norris believes ‘nothing special’ is needed to beat Max Verstappen

McLaren’s dominant pace will enable Lando Norris to start contending for the race wins from the get-go. However, Max Verstappen is also likely to work hard on improving his pace and race craft. Norris anticipates this and he must find ways to improve his racing the beginning of the year.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Formula 1)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Formula 1)

The Briton believed that he didn’t need to do anything special to beat Verstappen. The 25-year-old pointed out that outscoring the Dutchman was the ‘easy way’ to rise in the standings.

I just need more points from the beginning, and hopefully it’s the other way around. I don’t think you have to do anything special to try and beat Max. He’s quick, he’s aggressive, he’s one of the best ever. The easy way is just going out and being a bit quicker than him and staying ahead.

Lando Norris noted.

The 2025 season is set to be highly exciting as multiple teams and drivers will contend for both championships. Norris and Verstappen will showcase a similar if not better competition for the drivers’ title. Moreover, the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri will be part of the battle, as 22025 will mark the final year of the ground-effect era.