Lando Norris has claimed that he “won” his battle with Max Verstappen in Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix despite the collision ending with him retiring from the race.
Norris has emerged as a genuine championship challenger this season as he has capitalised on McLaren‘s ascent to close to 52 points behind Red Bull’s Verstappen.
However, the Briton could have been even closer had it not been for several missed opportunities to win races, including a clash with Verstappen at the Red Rull Ring.
Norris was lining up to attain the lead in the closing laps of that race when Verstappen moved across his rival in the braking zone at Turn 3 and the two made contact.
The McLaren driver collected a puncture which curtailed his involvement, while Verstappen, who was penalised, came home in fifth place to extend his points margin.
But while the incident cost him critical ground to Verstappen, Norris has counted taking the fight to the Dutchman in wheel-to-wheel combat as a success in his mind.
“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.
Mansell contends Norris ‘made a mistake’
However, 1992 F1 champion Nigel Mansell doesn’t share Norris’ view on the matter as he contends that his compatriot was unwise to attempt a move on the outside.
“Lando made the mistake of trying to overtake Verstappen on the outside in Austria,” Mansell told 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.”
Mansell also acknowledged the Austria debacle when asked whether McLaren should have prioritised Norris over team-mate Oscar Piastri earlier on in the campaign.
“No, not really, because both drivers early on in the season made mistakes,” he answered.
“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.”
Norris labels Verstappen toughest F1 rival
Norris, who is embroiled in his maiden championship battle, has conceded that Verstappen, now a seasoned veteran in title duels, has been his toughest rival to date.
“Max is probably the hardest guy to race on the track,” he added.
“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.”
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