Admitting that Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers to grace the sport, Lando Norris still believes he can beat him.

Whichever way you look at it, McLaren put up one hell of fight. Unfortunately for the Woking team not only did it come a little too late, they were also up against one of the sport's finest drivers.

His 2024 title dream shattered, Norris must now start preparing for next season, and the Briton believes that not only can the Dutchman be beaten, but that he is the man to do it.

"Massive congrats to him," said Norris at race end having failed to score the requisite number of points to carry the title fight over to Qatar next week. "He's deserved it," he continued. "He's not put a foot wrong, really, the whole year.

"That's strength of his, he has no bad... he has no downsides, he has no negatives," he admitted.

"When he's had the quickest car, he dominated races. When he's not in the quickest car, he's still been just behind us and almost winning the races anyway. So he's just not had a bad side to him. He's not had any bad races the whole year. You know, his worst was like a fifth or something. He just drove as Max has always driven, which is perfectly. You can't fault him anywhere."

Asked what he takes from the season, bearing in mind that some say he has not been aggressive enough, Norris said: "A lot more positives than negatives... that's for sure.

"I feel like I can fight for a championship and I'm happy," he continued, "and I can say that confidently.

"I have what it takes, and I know that deep down that I have what it takes. I have some things to work on still, for sure, but I can fight against Max, and I'll be happy to say that, because I think Max is the best driver in the world, and probably one of the best drivers that's ever been in Formula 1.

"Some people might disagree, but I'm quite confident when I say that, which is rare. So for me to put up a fight against him and to go wheel to wheel is something I love, I enjoy.

"I'll probably look back on a lot in twenty or thirty years that I fought such a driver. So you know, I'm happy for him. He deserves the championship, but hopefully I can upset him more next year."

Of course, next year the Briton will no doubt face a sterner threat from his own teammate, assuming the Woking team plays fair from the outset.

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