McLaren driver Lando Norris has denied that his friendship with Max Verstappen influences how he approaches racing his rival for position during Formula 1 races.
Norris has developed a close bond with Verstappen and has been touted as a potential option for Red Bull beyond 2024 if the incumbent Sergio Perez loses his drive.
But his relaxed attitude towards battling Verstappen on track has been questioned, particularly since McLaren became a front-running force midway through last season.
However, Norris has dismissed that he affords the reigning champion an easier time in wheel-to-wheel combat and claims he manages each circumstance individually.
“I think one of those areas where I’ve done a good job this year is by reading the situations that I’m in, knowing who I’m racing against and who I’m not,” he told Autosport.
“I know it’s a race at the end of the day, but the likelihood of losing a position to Max in Austin, and how I raced Lewis [Hamilton] versus how I raced Max, in the end I kind of knew I was going to lose positions to both of them.
“That’s not a bad attitude, that’s just being realistic and honest about the situations I’m in.
“The chance of keeping Max behind was basically zero. He was way too quick, his tyre degradation – I don’t know if anyone saw this year – was way better than everyone.”
The most notable example flagged by critics came in the United States when Norris put up little resistance to Verstappen but defended aggressively against Hamilton.
But Norris asserts that he sees no point in ruining his tyres and hampering his overall race prospects by attempting to resist a driver who is likely to pass at some stage.
“There’s no point ruining the longevity of your race trying to race one person that has a 99% chance of beating you because he’s in a quicker car,” the 24-year-old assessed.
“When Lewis overtook me [in Austin] it was with six laps to go or something. He was on way fresher tyres, so still maybe not the best reason to race against him, but there was a lot more of a chance of keeping him behind potentially than there ever was with Max.
“If I’d raced Max, I would have used a lot more tyres because he was a lot quicker. I only would have hurt my ability to extend a stint or only compromised my own race more than benefitted it.
“I think that was just one of the cases where I’ve done more often good than not on choosing my battles.”
Instead, Norris determines that his strong relationship with Verstappen makes him even more eager to be equipped with a car that can enable him to fight the Dutchman.
“Would I have loved to be more forceful and put on a better defence? “Absolutely. Like, why would I not? I love racing and that is what I want to do,” he outlined.
“I don’t want to ever give a position up to anyone! Especially not Max!”
He added: “People on the outside are too quick to judge again why I wouldn’t [race Verstappen hard].
“[They say], ‘ah it’s because he’s friends with Max’ and all of that stuff. Which couldn’t have anything less to do with it.
“If anything, it makes me want to beat someone more if I’m friends with them than if I’m not.”
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