McLaren’s Lando Norris admitted he “would rather be” in Max Verstappen’s shoes as he chases the Red Bull driver for the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen hasn’t won a race in six Grands Prix amid Red Bull car struggles and resurgent rivals.
Norris is among the Dutchman’s adversaries and has steadily cut into Verstappen’s lead in the F1 Drivers’ standings, which now stands at 62 points.
With the Italian Grand Prix at Monza exaggerating Red Bull’s issues, Verstappen said he believed both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships are under threat by Norris and McLaren.
“Max can say what he wants,” Norris proclaimed to the media (via RacingNews365).
“He still has a lead of about 60 points. It’s not easy to make up for that in eight races.
“Even if I win every race, it gets very difficult. He is still in a better position and I would rather be in his shoes.
“And once Red Bull figures out what went wrong and what they’re struggling with, it’s a team that I expect to solve the problems within a few races and come back strong.”
Verstappen rued Red Bull had turned the RB20 into a “monster” after finishing sixth at Monza, but Norris believes the Dutchman was too quick to be dismayed.
“Max may have that feeling after one bad race,” he said. “It’s not like they fall short of a lot of speed every race.
“Italy was probably their worst race, but Max regularly narrowly missed pole positions and victories. I think he says it to feel a little better.”
Indeed, Verstappen finished second to Norris during the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, even amid Red Bull’s balance issues.
Coming into Baku on Friday, Verstappen topped FP1 and his Red Bull team-mate was second in FP2.
Norris meanwhile, said McLaren is “quite a long way off” following Friday’s running.
“We have quite a lot to find, honestly, compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.”
The impetus is on McLaren to turn its fortunes around for qualifying day at Baku.
As Norris said, Verstappen remains in the pound seat for the title race and only perfect weekends on a consistent base will see the Red Bull ace relinquish his Drivers’ Championship.
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