Norris on 'nerve-wracking' battle with Verstappen and confidence in McLaren

Lando Norris says he will try to work out a way to prevent another on-track clash with Max Verstappen following their collision while battling for victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.

“We want to race hard and we both know that,” the McLaren driver said in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport before this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

“But we definitely don’t want things ending like they did. We want to make sure we avoid that in the future.”

Norris and Verstappen collided with six laps to go in Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring. After several laps of on-the-edge racing, in which both ended up off track at times, they touched when Verstappen moved over on Norris, who was going for a move on the outside. The incident ended Norris’ race, and Verstappen dropped back to fifth at the finish.

Norris was critical of Verstappen after the race, accusing the Red Bull driver of being “a little bit desperate” and changing his line while in the braking zone - against the rules in F1 because of the dangers involved.

Speaking in the McLaren factory a couple of days after the incident, Norris says the pair have been in contact - and will be so again for a more extensive clear-the-air conversation.

“We’ve texted,” Norris says. “We’re going to have a chat, of course, because I think it’s the correct thing to do. But apart from that, what we talk about and how things go is between us.”

The two are friends off-track, and Norris says he expects them to be able to move past this particular controversy.

“I think so,” he says. “Like we’ve said many times, because of the respect we still have. I’m not going to let something like that suddenly blow up everything.

“Definitely my adrenaline side probably got a little the better of me in a few of the  comments. I don’t think everything I said was probably as correct as what it should be.

“But I was fighting for one of my first wins; it was my second win on the cards. For Max, it’s his 60th. So what it means to me is very different to what it means to him.

“So of course I am going to be upset and maybe say some things that are not correct or as I would like them to come out, but we will be fine.”

Despite admitting to a degree of regret over some of his comments - although he does not specify which ones - Norris insists he did nothing wrong on track, and is sticking to his opinion of the various incidents.

All the drivers know how Verstappen races - he gives no quarter at all. The question for Norris now - just as it was for Lewis Hamilton when he was battling for the title with the Dutchman in 2021 - is how to deal with that and come out on top.

“It is a good question,” Norris says, "because there is no simple answer.

“It’s understanding what he thinks, how he thinks, all those types of things, is the mentality you need to go in with.”

Norris says he will spend time analysing the way Verstappen races to come up with a strategy.

“It is something I need to prepare for,” he says, "to look into previous races and things like that and understand those types of things.

“We need roles to be clear and defined in each and every area. But you’ve got to be ready to give what he gives to you, it’s as simple as that.

“I am definitely one of the first people who knew that and completely understood that before I even attempted to race Max. In that you know you are going to going into one of the biggest fights you can possibly have and by no means is it going to be easy. And I don’t want it to be easy.

“I love that. It was nerve-wracking. It was exciting. Even for me inside the car. My eyes were wide open. I was loving it. As much as I wanted it to be that little bit easier, I loved it, and it was tough and that’s why I do what I do.”

Norris has already beaten Verstappen once this year - with his maiden victory at the Miami Grand Prix back in early May. And since that race he and his team have emerged as Red Bull’s most consistent rivals.

Norris was in the fight for victory with Verstappen in Canada, Spain and Austria. Each time fine margins denied them. But Norris says that while he knows the size of his challenge, he can feel more wins are on the way.

“We’re going against what everyone has been saying as the most competitive car in history,” he says, “one of, if not the, best driver ever in F1. A very competitive team.

“And to go up against one of these groups or teams in general you need everything to go pretty much perfectly, and things are almost there. But it’s that last 1%. It’s a little bit from the car, a little bit from myself.”

Gone is the domination of 2022 and 2023. At every race now there is an expectation that McLaren will be fighting for victory with Verstappen.

And if Norris could find that little bit extra this weekend, and take a home win, it would be extra special.

“If I could win anywhere and only once, it would be Silverstone,” Norris says.

“I’m very, very excited. Just because it’s the fans and the atmosphere, the feeling you get, the smile on your face. I’m just excited for all of it. It gives you a buzz and energy that you don’t get anywhere else.

“I’m looking forward to it. And with the knowledge in the back of your mind that you could go on and get another podium or a race win, it motivates everyone that little bit more.”

Last year’s British Grand Prix marked confirmation of a remarkable turnaround by McLaren. They had started the 2023 season towards the back of the grid, but promising that improvements were coming.

The race before, in Austria, a major upgrade was introduced, and Norris was suddenly in the battle at the front. In Silverstone a week later, he and team-mate Oscar Piastri qualified second and third, and Norris led the opening four laps after beating Verstappen off the line.

McLaren’s progress last year convinced Norris to extend his contract with the team over last winter, and he is now committed until at least the end of 2026.

Before this season started, he predicted McLaren would catch Red Bull and win races in 2024. There was scepticism at the time - but he has ben proved absolutely right.

He says his conviction in the team is based largely on the way it has been transformed in the past 18 months by new team principal Andrea Stella.

“I signed the contract with McLaren because I had a lot of confidence - and that is not something I have often had a lot of. But I just had that feeling that that time was coming,” Norris says.

“I finally had a better picture of what it took in order to try to be world champions and have a race-winning car, what was needed and what we had.

“And we were not far away. We still have work to do but we are closer than ever.

“It’s a combination of of things, but Andrea in my eyes has been the biggest key to this whole turnaround.”