Lando Norris has paid homage to Max Verstappen’s stellar season despite the sting of conceding the F1 drivers’ title to the Dutchman at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Norris needed to finish ahead of Verstappen to extend his faint championship aspirations, but Verstappen’s fifth-place finish, just ahead of Norris, sealed the deal with races to spare.
Following a pivotal Brazil race where Verstappen surged from 17th to victory and Norris fell from pole to sixth, the Brit acknowledged the inevitability Verstappen would triumph.
Post-race, Norris was gracious in defeat, stating: “I’ll start with congrats to Max, as much as it hurts a little bit. Saying congrats to him does not hurt, but knowing the championship is now 100 per cent over.
“You always have a little hope inside but he drove an incredible season. When he had the quickest car he dominate, and when he didn’t he was still there and always on my heels.
“He made my life tough – we made his tough at times I am sure, but he drove a better season so a big congrats to him.”
Norris reflected on his first real title-contending season in F1 with a sense of pride, despite not clinching the championship. The 25-year-old driver remarked: “I think I was happy with how calm and focused I was.
“There is definitely more pressure, there are more eyes, more nerves, more demands on me to make sure I go out and don’t mess up a qualifying lap or make a mistake in the race, stay in the race, don’t get taken out.”
“Since Zandvoort I feel like I have done close to a perfect job. Always things I could have improved on and that I need to improve on, but I feel like I have done a very good job especially in this second half of the season.
“The first half, we were suddenly like, ‘Oh, we are fighting them’, and I don’t think we, as a team, were mentally ready to fight against the big boys. As much as I would like to believe we were ready, we were not and we paid the price for that a little bit.
“But also, I was there fighting Max, no-one else. We started the season as the slowest of the top four and we are ending it as the most consistent and probably the best team. I am more proud than anything else – I do not regret anything.”
