“Max Verstappen will be racing us”: Lando Norris does not rule out Red Bull F1 star out of contention for the British GP victory

Lando Norris is not concerned with Max Verstappen starting on the same row alongside him at the 2024 British GP. Speaking to Sportskeeda in the post-qualifying press conference, the McLaren driver suggested that the two Mercedes on the front row were his main battle during the race.

After their clash in Austria, Lando Norris will line up with Verstappen again in the same row at the British race, but this time around, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton occupy the front row with the former in pole position. The British driver and Dutchman are supposed to have resolved their on-track clash between the two race weekends and to be looking forward to more battles.

On whether Verstappen on the same row was a concern, Norris felt it would be the Red Bull driver racing the McLaren. He felt the two Mercedes were the main competition, with the Milton Keynes squad behind them. However, the 24-year-old was not concerned about losing the race on strategy and was satisfied with his team’s ability to execute a good race.

Asked by Sportskeeda if he was concerned with starting in the same row as Verstappen, Lando Norris replied:

“I'm sure Max is going to be racing us tomorrow, but I've still got two other guys I've got to worry about, so I don't care just about Red Bull.”

Asked if strategy remained a concern for him, given the Canadian GP performance, the McLaren driver said:

“I think our strategy has been very good over the last two months, so I'm happy. The team are doing a good job and therefore I’m confident we can execute a good race. We need good pace. We need to be able to race well. I need to pass two guys if that's going to be on the cards. So, yeah, confident from what we know and what we've seen over the last few races that we can go forwards”

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Lando Norris believes Canadian GP review assures a better performance in Silverstone

Lando Norris believes that after reviewing the tire strategies from the Canadian GP, it is unlikely the same mistakes will be repeated in Silverstone. The McLaren driver felt that it was difficult to predict plans but was confident that his team were well prepared for the British race after reviewing the Canadian race thoroughly.

Asked if the Canadian GP review has helped improve the performance of race execution for Silverstone, Norris said:

“I mean, we review everything. It's not just kind of every race that's wet or Inters or whatever you review. But again, like George says, every case is different. You have to be prepared for every eventuality. And it's not like you can plan these things. You know, it's a lot about just decision-making and being prepared at the time to just execute whatever plans you need to have ready and kind of have in front of you. So we did a lot of reviewing of Canada, so I'm sure tomorrow will be better.”

McLaren is currently 87 points behind Red Bull Racing and Norris is 81 points behind Verstappen. In the last three races, the Woking squad have been unable to convert their superior pace into victories. But with Red Bull on the back foot, it will be important for the former champions to capitalize on opportunities and execute a good race to reduce the points gap to the reigning champions.