01/11/2024
NEWS STORY
Lando Norris stokes the fires as he claims that Max Verstappen is well aware that his aggressive approach to racing is wrong.
In the moments after last weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, in which the Dutchman was handed two ten-second penalties, the second of which was for forcing his McLaren rival off the track, Norris described the Red Bull driver's actions as "dangerous".
A week later and the Briton's mood hasn't changed.
"No, we haven't spoken. I don't think we need to. I've got nothing to say," said Norris, when asked if he had spoken to Verstappen about the incidents, which came just a week after the equally controversial incidents in Austin.
"I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does," added Norris. "Not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and also what he's achieved.
"It's not for me to speak to him. I'm not his teacher, I'm not his mentor or anything like that," the Briton insisted. "Max knows what he has to do, he knows that he did wrong. Deep down he does and it's for him to change, not for me."
Some have suggested that Norris essentially fights fire with fire and gives the Dutchman a taste of his medicine, but the youngster doesn't feel that this is the best approach.
"I've always had the mentality to want to race fair and clean and sometimes I've been, I think I probably said it last weekend, on the too kind side, whether I was attacking or defending and things like that.
"But I think I've always made good decisions from that side and sometimes I've paid the price for not being aggressive enough. But the rest of it is not up to me. I know how to keep the car in one piece. That's something I've done for a while.
"Even when you don't realise it, there are times when you have to avoid a potential crash and maybe you don't see it behind the TV and things like that, but inside the car you know, I'm only here because I avoided this or I've done that or avoided this person or that person."
Lewis Hamilton, who fought a down-to-the-wire title fight with Verstappen in 2021, is only too aware of the Dutchman's aggression.
"All you have to do is just go and look back and listen to some of my radio comments back in the day," said the seven-time world champion, when asked about the recen t incidents. I don't think you're seeing much difference across the years from 2021 to now. It's pretty much the same."