Lando Norris has said that he and Max Verstappen have not
spoken about their recent on-track battles, as their title fight reaches its
climax.
The Red Bull and McLaren driver are the main title rivals
for the F1 2024 championship, which has pitted the two close friends against
each other in an increasingly tense fight.
Lando Norris: It’s not on me to speak to Max Verstappen
Norris and Verstappen are well-known as close friends and
frequently shared chartered flights on their way to Grands Prix, but that
friendship has been put to the test by a terse title battle.
The first real test came in Austria when, following a
collision between the pair that resulted in damage to both cars and a race
retirement for Norris, the McLaren man
called upon Verstappen to apologise.
An apology didn’t come, but Verstappen spoke at length of
his desire to keep their friendship intact and, after tempers had cooled,
Norris retracted his calls for an apology.
But while a more recent flashpoint hasn’t occurr
ed, the
differing competitive levels of their cars have resulted in Verstappen taking
more extreme defensive tactics when being attacked by Norris – resulting in him
pushing Norris off-track twice in Mexico and picking up two separate time
penalties.
This came a week after Norris himself was given a penalty
for overtaking Verstappen while off-track, with the Red Bull driver having
closed the door on the McLaren’s attempt to pass around the outside of Turn 12.
After Mexico, Norris acknowledged that Verstappen is now
driving solely to beat him and will “sacrifice” his own best result in order
just to beat his title rival, resulting in a different approach to driving and
racing against the British challenger.
Asked whether he and Verstappen have spoken about the recent
events on-track, Norris said the duo have not and that he felt it wasn’t on him
to argue his perspective with the reigning World Champion.
“No, we’ve not spoken,” he said on Thursday in Brazil.
“I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say.
“I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he
does – not respect for what he did last weekend – but respect for him as a
person and also what he’s achieved.
“But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher.
I’m not his mentor or anything like that.
“Max knows what he has to do. He knows that he did wrong.
Deep down, he does, and it’s for him to change.”
More on Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
As for whether he feels his relationship with Verstappen has
changed as a result of their title fight, he said: “Not that I know of. I’ve
not spoken to Max, it’s not something I need to speak to Max about.
“Max is probably one of the most capable drivers on the
grid, if not the most, and he knows what he can and can’t do and where the
limits are. He knows the changes he has to make.”
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