Lando Norris declares ‘battle won’ against Max Verstappen in F1 2024 flashpoint

His Austria incident with Max Verstappen branded a “howler” by 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell, Lando Norris said he actually “won” that battle just by taking the fight to Verstappen.

While the early rounds of F1 2024 suggested a fresh display of Verstappen dominance was on the cards, McLaren and Norris have emerged from the pack to complicate Verstappen’s path to a fourth successive Drivers’ title , his lead down to 52 points, while McLaren has usurped Red Bull at the top of the Constructors’ standings.

Lando Norris declares himself the winner in Max Verstappen Austria clash

The on-track action between these two title rivals – Norris experiencing this scene for the first time – has been largely kept clean, though the Austrian Grand Prix was an exception as they collided while battling for the lead, Norris attempting to go around the outside of Verstappen as both drivers were left with punctures from the contact.

And Mansell – despite praising McLaren for doing a “fantastic” job in F1 2024 and saying Norris can “overhaul” Verstappen – felt his compatriot made a glaring error in Austria.

“Lando made the mistake of trying to overtake Verstappen on the outside in Austria,” Mansell continued to Top Offshore Sportsbook .

“Because you can’t overtake a several-time World Champion on the outside, and that race was his to win, and he could be 25 points even closer now.”

And asked if McLaren – who are prepared to fully back Norris as an F1 2024 title double becomes increasingly realistic – should have made that call earlier, Mansell again drew attention to that Austrian GP incident.

“No, not really, because both drivers [Norris and Oscar Piastri] early on in the season made mistakes,” he replied.

“I mean, the howler of a mistake in Austria that Lando made was basically 25, 26 points. So, you know, you can argue all sorts of different things.”

However, Norris, never shy to be self-critical, does not take such a dim view on what went down between him and Verstappen in Austria.

Despite the outcome – Norris retiring from the damage – he felt like the victor from that exchange.

“Things didn’t end the way I wanted them to, and I still feel like on that Sunday, I probably won the battle of … taking the fight to him, although I didn’t win who came out on top that day,” Norris told The Athletic .

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And as a rookie to the F1 title scene, going up against a veteran in Verstappen, Norris readily admits that the Dutchman is the toughest rival he has come up against.

“Max is probably the hardest guy to race on the track,” Norris said.

“He’s probably one of the most aware in terms of situations. And helped by him being in this position for the last four or five years. For me, it’s still quite new.”

Six rounds remain of the F1 2024 campaign and Norris’ bid to deny Verstappen a fourth consecutive title, the season resuming with the United States Grand Prix on 20 October.

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