Lando Norris feels he needs to drive with ‘elbows out’ for battle against Max Verstappen in F1 2025 – India TV

McLaren driver Lando Norris says he needs to drive with a change of approach in his title fight with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen in the upcoming Formula 1 2025 season. Norris came second-best to Verstappen in the 2024 season. 

Norris and Verstappen had some collisions last season, however, Verstappen’s greater consistency meant he went on to clinch the title. The British driver had said last season that he wasn’t ready for a fight with the Dutch driver Verstappen, who now has four F1 titles. 

Norris now thinks he has to change his approach and drive with his elbows out. “I need to get my elbows out, and I need to show that I’m not going to willingly give him any positions, those kind of things,” Norris said. “But I also have to be a smart driver. You have to be a smart driver to go up against Max.

“We saw it last year. So I look forward to them. I like those moments when you have to make those quick decisions, and it’s always a lot harder when you’re in the car than when you re-watch it after, and you just think, like, even when I see some things that I do, I’m like, ‘why the hell have I done that, what an idiot!'” he added.

Norris says he does not need to prove anything to Verstappen and needs to remain self-focused. “But at the same time, I want to say, I don’t need to go out and just prove something to him. I don’t need to take any unnecessary risks, and I don’t need to go down trying, necessarily. I just need to keep focusing on myself.

“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. That’s the obvious plan, but I know, I’ve just got to be smart. That’s the answer to it all. You have to be smart, and you have to position the car well, and also think of the long game sometimes,” Norris highlighted.

The British driver feels he wasn’t up to the mark with Verstappen last year. “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, [he] very willingly sacrificed himself for the benefit of the overall outcome,” he said.

“And when that’s the mentality of a driver, whether it’s Max or any driver, that’s a very difficult one to ever come on top of, when you’re 50 points behind or 40 points behind in the championship, because it’s never going to be a win for me,” he said.