Norris ‘played game’ to beat Verstappen ‘on merit’

Lando Norris has conceded to surprise after beating F1 title rival Max Verstappen to the chequered flag at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Following a difficult qualifying on Saturday, Norris lined up 15th on the grid, with Verstappen sixth.

Norris opted for an alternative strategy, starting on the hard compound Pirelli tyres and going deep into the race before switching to the medium after making up several positions during the stint.

After his pit stop, he was able to close down Verstappen and overtake the championship leader for sixth place.

Norris was then promoted to fourth after a crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.

When asked if he was surprised he was able to beat Verstappen, Norris told media, including RacingNews365: “I’m a little bit surprised. 

“When you start 15th, I didn’t really expect to beat him, especially because they were boxed and we were behind. So I was about 22 seconds behind on real terms to where they were.

“So to create a gap ahead of him and then to box and still overtake him, I wasn’t expecting to do such a thing.”

Norris acknowledged that Verstappen had burned through his tyres in an attempt to catch up, making his defence much easier to manage.

“But that was with Max, and I could defend against Max, because he spent like six laps trying to catch up,” he said.

“So I knew his tyres were getting to a point where they were too hot and he couldn’t attack me anymore. So I played the game well.”