Written by Caitlyn Gordon, Edited by Julia Bissessar
With one month away from lights out on the 2025 Formula One season, McLaren driver Lando Norris is planning ahead for his inevitable on-track battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are the two favourites for the Driver Championship heading into the 2025 season with the 24-round season commencing on March 16th in Melbourne. The Briton enjoyed his most successful F1 season in 2024, securing his maiden victory and a further three wins in the Netherlands, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
Norris’ success last season helped McLaren secure their first Constructor Championship since 1998. Despite Norris’ form, the Dutchman ultimately secured his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship, joining a small group of drivers who have accomplished the same feat.
The 2024 season saw Norris and Verstappen clash repeatedly, with memorable moments in Austria, Austin and Mexico, adding fuel to the rivalry.
In Austria, the pair collided, causing Norris to retire and Verstappen to suffer from a puncture in his tyre. As a result, the reigning champion was handed a 10-second penalty.
The drama continued in Austin when the pair fought it out in the closing laps of the United States Grand Prix. Norris overtook Verstappen off the track and, refusing to give the position back, was subsequently handed a five-second penalty.
The tension between the pair escalated further in Mexico where Verstappen received two separate twenty-second penalties after forcefully pushing Norris off the track.
Norris reflects on his mistakes in the 2024 season
Reflecting on his last season in Formula One, Norris mentioned, “There’s some things where I just didn’t do a good enough job.”
“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.”
Looking back on the 2024 season, Norris highlighted the Mexico Grand Prix as a race where he couldn’t operate on the same level of Verstappen, pinpointing that the Dutchman ‘very willingly sacrificed’ his race to ensure Norris didn’t win.
The Briton goes on to add that with the point deficit he had, it meant Verstappen could take a more ‘aggressive’ approach to racing. If Norris tried to replicate the approach it would have ‘benefitted’ Verstappen more than Norris himself.
"I want to race against Max and I do enjoy those moments. Some things obviously didn't end up in the perfect way, in the perfect scenario…Being in his position you can always see as the vulnerable position, and me being kind of the chaser and the guy trying to attack can also be seen as a positive and negative.”
‘Thinking of the long game’ for the 2025 season
"So, what's the main thing that's going to change this year? I just need more points from the beginning, and hopefully it's the other way around.”
“I don’t need to go out and prove something to him. I don’t need to take any unnecessary risks, and I don’t need to go down trying. I don’t think you have to do anything special to try and beat Max. You have to be smart and also think of the long game sometimes”, he added.
McLaren unveiled their 2025 contender, the MCL39, at Silverstone on February 13th. Team Principal Andrea Stella described it as an ‘aggressive’ upgrade with the ‘fundamental layout’ having major improvements.
Norris anticipates the upcoming season with a heavily-upgraded car, hoping to further add to his success at McLaren. The 25-year-old remains determined to take the fight to Red Bull, admitting he will be having ‘his elbows out’ when it comes to battling it out with Verstappen:
"I need to get my elbows out and show I am not going to willingly give him positions but I also have to be a smart driver - you have to be smart to go up against Max”, Norris said.
Verstappen is yet to respond to Norris’ comments, perhaps wanting to settle it on track. Only time will tell what the 2025 season holds, but we do know it will be gripping and entertaining for all.
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