F1 title still Verstappen’s to lose despite Red Bull setback

Lando Norris is convinced he is still the driver with “nothing to lose” in his Formula 1 title fight with Max Verstappen.

While he is slowly catching up with Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, Norris has not made the most of the Red Bull’s declining speed in recent races.

He goes into Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix with a 59-point deficit, meaning he needs to beat the Dutchman by an average of nine points per race in the remaining seven Grands Prix of this season.

His McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri has been in better form recently, having won in Baku last time out, while Norris fought back from Q1 elimination to finish fourth, one place ahead of Verstappen and with a point for fastest lap.

McLaren’s result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix puts the team in the lead of the constructors’ standings. Norris has repeatedly cited Ferrari as the main rival in that championship.

But in his own personal battle with Verstappen, he dismissed suggestions he could lose the driver’s title given McLaren currently has the fastest car on the grid.

“It’s still his to lose, not mine,” he said. “I’m still the one who has nothing to lose at this point.”

Norris pointed out the dominance of the Red Bull pack early in the season, when Verstappen won four of the first five races (a race only interrupted by brake problems in Australia) and took the first seven pole positions, emphasising that “they beat us by bigger margins than we beat them”.

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

“They are having a less difficult time than we were at the beginning of the year,” he added.

“So they are still more in the race than we were at the beginning of the year.

“We have turned the tide and at the same time I strongly believe that they can still do it very quickly.

“Actually it was only the last two races (in Monza and Baku) where I would say they were a bit behind, both in qualifying and, probably even more so, in the race itself.

“I think people need to look more specifically at the things that are obvious and in front of them. They shouldn’t make judgments or generalize.”

Norris has won twice this year, with his first ever F1 victory in Miami, before crossing the finish line first in Verstappen’s home race in Zandvoort.

Those results put Norris in a title fight this season, and it also explains the change in his mental approach, now that he knows what he needs to achieve to secure the championship.

“The easiest thing is to look at how much I celebrated in Miami and how much I celebrated in Zandvoort,” he said.

Podium: Race winner Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Erik Junius

“I didn’t really party in Zandvoort. It was just a little fist bump and a few smiles, but that was it.

“If I had been completely out of the championship I probably would have celebrated more.

“But knowing it means something to a bigger picture, it still felt like a small thing on that day and the significance of it.”

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