Lando Norris made a mistake trying to overtake Max Verstappen around the outside in Austria: F1 legend on the notorious clash

F1 world champion Nigel Mansell feels Lando Norris made a mistake when he tried to overtake Max Verstappen around the outside in Austria. According to him, a multiple world champion and someone of Verstappen's caliber was never going to cede room around the outside and was always going to drive him off the track, which is what happened in the end.

The 2024 F1 season has seen the title battle come alive. Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the field in the first few races, giving the impression that a repeat of the 2023 season was imminent. Last season, the Austrian team had only one loss to its name, and it put together a dominant performance.

This season, however, things changed as soon as McLaren brought its first major upgrade in Miami. Since then, many races have seen a head-to-head battle between Norris and Verstappen. It came to its peak at the F1 Austrian GP, where Verstappen was very aggressive in his defense. The two often made contact and destroyed each other's races. Talking to Top Offshore Sportsbooks, Mansell pinpointed the incident in Austria as where the McLaren driver possibly made a mistake while trying to overtake the Red Bull driver:

"I think the other very unfortunate thing is that Lando made the mistake of trying to overtake Max Verstappen on the outside in Austria. 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. So I still think there’s a great chance for him to have a good go at the championship.”

With six races left, the gap between the Dutchman and the British driver is 52 points.

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Nigel Mansell backs Lando Norris to challenge Max Verstappen

Talking about the prospects of Lando Norris closing the gap to Max Verstappen to Top Offshore Sportsbooks, Nigel Mansell backed the youngster as he praised Norris' performance in Baku:

"I’ve got to say Lando was extremely unlucky in Baku. Lando was on a very important lap in Q1. But then to recover like he did in the race was fantastic. I think getting fourth or so would have been sixth, but then Red Bull and Ferrari decided to come together on the last but one lap.

But it was a great race for McLaren and what a fantastic job they’re doing. I think he can overhaul Max Verstappen because Red Bull have had fantastic reliability so far and Max only has to have one retirement or problem (to let Norris past)."

The next race is in Austin, a track where Verstappen hasn't lost since 2021. Red Bull is expected to bring further upgrades to the car that weekend.