Lando Norris needs Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to help him dethrone Max Verstappen

Verstappen has a comfortable lead at the top of the F1 standings but Lando Norris thinks he can close the gap – if he gets some help from the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Lando Norris admits he needs help from his fellow Brits on the F1 grid if he is to stop Max Verstappen winning a fourth-straight title.

The McLaren driver is third in the standings, 63 points adrift of the defending champion. Red Bull have been tested by McLaren and Ferrari in recent weeks while Mercedes joined the fight for the win last time out in Montreal.

And Norris needs Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to keep up that pressure if he has any chance of dethroning Verstappen. Asked if he thinks there is a chance he can stop the flying Dutchman this year, the 24-year-old replied: “I think it’s tough, but there are probably more chances and possibilities now – especially if Mercedes are in the fight.

“That means there’s more of a chance of a bigger swing of points. A bad weekend for Max was third before, and it could be that it’s now a fifth or a sixth. And if you can be that one guy who wins, within one weekend you can turn around a lot of points fairly quickly. If it goes like that then I’d say there’s a higher chance.”
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But Norris went on to admit: “With Max, a bad weekend is never going to be a bad weekend. It’s still going to be a good amount of points, he’s strong in all areas. It’s rare that he makes mistakes or messes up qualifying.

“With a bit more pressure now, you never know how that will change. With pressure it’s always easier to make mistakes. But you can’t doubt Max in any area – he doesn’t have a weakness.” Verstappen, meanwhile, said he relishes the challenge of having to fight harder for wins than he has had to do in the last two years.

He said: “I really enjoy getting everything out of the car myself and winning by 20 seconds. But I’m not afraid of competition. I’m not here because of other people’s opinions. I know what I can do and the team knows what I can do, so I just focus on my performance.”