Verstappen knows “deep down” that Mexico GP manoeuvre was wrong

Lando Norris believes that Max Verstappen knows “deep down” that he was in the wrong during the Mexico Grand Prix, and that the three-time Formula 1 champion should know what to change in future.

Verstappen collected two 10-second penalties for a pair of 10th-lap incidents with Norris in Mexico, one for running Norris out of road at Turn 4 and another for leaving the track at Turn 7 and gaining an advantage by passing the McLaren driver.

In the aftermath, Norris reiterated his respect for Verstappen but was dismayed by the championship leader’s approach during the race – having noted that his only job was to stop his rival from outscoring him in races.

Norris said that he still hadn’t spoken to Verstappen about the race, and that it was not up to him to encourage the Dutchman to change his ways.

“We’ve not spoken and I don’t think we need to,” Norris said. “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, not for me.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

He added: “Max is probably one of the most capable drivers on the grid, if not the most. He knows what he can and can’t do and where the limits are. So, he knows the changes he has to make.”

Norris explained that he was not going to change his approach when it came to racing Verstappen, and felt that he was good at keeping his nose clean during contentious moments on track.

He admitted that he might have “paid the price” for lacking aggression in certain scenarios, but that the points from keeping it clean in races have nonetheless added up.

“I think something I’ve done well in my whole career is staying out of trouble and keep the car in one piece,” Norris contended. “All those little things add up over a championship and over a season, especially in a cost cap season as well.

“I’ve always had the mentality to want to race fair and clean. I think I probably said it last weekend, I’ve been maybe too kind, whether I was attacking or defending. But I think I’ve always made good decisions from that side. 

“Sometimes I’ve paid the price for not being aggressive enough, but the rest of it is not up to me. 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 on the TV.

“There are more times that people realise that you go through those certain scenarios.  And I think those are some of the challenges we have every now and then. 

“But I’ll come into this weekend with a new expectation of hopefully having clean, fair racing. And I think that’s what we should expect.”