Norris on 'doing it my way' and racing against Verstappen

"I want to do it my way," Lando Norris says. It's a remark that encapsulates wherever he is, conscionable complete a 3rd of nan measurement done a Formula 1 play that could extremity pinch him arsenic world champion.

The McLaren driver is talking astatine nan team's factory, earlier this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, and he's contemplating a number of things.

There's nan in-house title conflict pinch team-mate Oscar Piastri; nan measurement to attack racing pinch Red Bull's Max Verstappen, still successful nan title image himself, contempt his evident infinitesimal of madness astatine nan past title successful Spain; and Norris' ain struggles to make nan astir of a McLaren car that is nan people of nan section but pinch which nan 25-year-old Briton has admitted to struggling a small this season.

Specifically, correct now, he's exploring his and his team's attack to having 2 highly intimately matched drivers successful nan fastest car successful nan field, allowing them to title each different and trying to extremity their egos tearing nan squad apart, arsenic has tended to hap successful F1 successful nan past.

McLaren are asking Norris and Piastri to put nan squad first while chasing nan individual dream they person some held since they were small boys. And truthful acold it has worked.

"I deliberation it's because I'm a awesome team-mate," Norris says. He's smiling, arsenic he truthful often does. He's a smiley guy. But he intends it.

"That's not saying thing successful nan incorrect way," he adds. "Even though your team-mate's ever your biggest competitor, and nan feline you want to hit and request to hit much than anyone, I've ever wanted to person a bully time, and person laughs and make jokes, and bask my life.

"That's what I'm present to do astatine nan extremity of nan day, bask my life. And we want to do that together.

"We are different people, different characters, but some guys who cognize heavy down we want to hit each other. But we besides want to bask our journey."

Usually successful F1, expecting team-mates to stay connected friendly, aliases moreover cordial, position while competing for nan biggest prize successful their athletics ne'er works.

Racing drivers by their quality are selfish. Sooner aliases later, nan pursuit of nan individual extremity takes over, and nan narration ends up going sour. Usually arsenic a consequence of immoderate on-track incident; sometimes conscionable done nan strength of nan situation.

Think Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

McLaren are tying to propulsion disconnected thing much aliases little unsocial successful modern F1 history. They opportunity they expect their drivers to travel together astatine immoderate point, but they besides judge they tin negociate that, acknowledgment to their transparent attack pinch them from nan start.

It sounds for illustration an intolerable dream. But there's thing astir nan personalities of Norris and Piastri that makes you deliberation that maybe, conscionable maybe, it mightiness work.

They are truthful different successful immoderate ways. Norris wears his bosom connected his sleeve; Piastri is arsenic cool and reserved arsenic they come. Yet, arsenic a pair, they look to get why this is important.

"I'm employed by nan team, and I person to thrust and title for them," Norris says. "As a number one, it is simply a constructor. That's what we person to triumph successful nan extremity of nan season. But past there's nan individual championship.

"Everyone's seen plentifulness of championships arsenic team-mates move sour and spell successful nan incorrect direction. And that usually leads to galore things, for illustration a domino effect of things starting to fail. And that's what we don't want.

"We cognize we still want to race. We're free to title against each different arsenic individuals, but we besides cognize our sole intent is to title for McLaren, nan team, nan sanction we title under. And that's thing we're some very proud of doing."

McLaren judge that operating this way, alternatively than having 1 driver who is some usually faster than nan different and besides has privilege successful nan team, raises their corporate level higher.

Norris says location are "pros and cons" to having nan feline successful nan aforesaid car arsenic you being your main rival.

"The point that makes it bully is besides nan the point that makes it bad," he says. "Which is that you tin spot everything nan different 1 is doing. You tin study from each different very easily.

"But nan affirmative is, arsenic a team, that brings america to performing astatine a very, very precocious level, and that's only a use for nan team."

Last year, Norris was nan starring McLaren driver. Once nan squad were competitive, a fewer races into nan season, it was him who took nan title conflict to Verstappen, was quicker overmuch much often than not successful qualifying, and won doubly arsenic galore races arsenic Piastri.

This year, nan Australian has turned nan tables. Six wins to Norris' two; 4 poles to two; 7-4 up crossed each qualifying sessions; 10 points up successful nan championship.

Norris says it has "maybe not been nan cleanable aliases dream start", but he says he's "still happy" pinch his performances truthful far. "It's been nan commencement that is needed successful bid to conflict for a championship," he says.

Piastri's upturn successful shape is 1 of nan stories of nan season. But inquire Norris whether it has amazed him, and he says: "I wouldn't opportunity so. If I was connected nan outside, 100% I would agree. I'm not surprised, because I cognize nan benignant of driver he is. I cognize what he's tin of doing. I cognize nan talent he has. And I conjecture I spot it much than anyone else.

"I'm nan feline looking astatine what he does pinch his feet and pinch his hands, and really he drives nan car. And I'm capable to springiness astir apt a much meticulous reply than anyone other connected nan outside."

Norris and McLaren person been unfastened astir really a definite characteristic of their car has affected him. Team main Andrea Stella explains this by saying: "The emotion coming from nan beforehand axle is comparatively numb."

Norris explains why this is simply a peculiar problem for him. "I tin only opportunity really I drive, and what I trust on, and it's very overmuch emotion done nan steering wheel. That's my superior root of feelings of really I tin thrust a car quickly.

"When I'm competing against nan champion successful nan world, you request everything to beryllium giving you those cues, nan champion feelings, successful bid to beryllium astir accurate. If you're missing that small thing, past it's reliable to beryllium nan best.

"I've had to activity connected exploring different ways to get nan thigh clip retired of myself, whether that's much my emotion done my assemblage aliases feet, to trying to activity pinch nan squad connected ways to kinda bring that emotion backmost done nan steering wheel. That's each portion of nan job."

Norris is talking a matter of days aft he likened Verstappen's arguable collision pinch Mercedes' George Russell successful nan Spanish Grand Prix to thing retired of nan Mario Kart game.

That remark was made successful nan greenish room earlier nan podium while chatting to Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. He did not want to grow connected it to nan media, and he still does not now, joking: "I don't retrieve saying it."

But he will talk astir nan situation of racing Verstappen. The 2 are friends disconnected track, but Spain was not nan first clip Norris had expressed nationalist disapproval of nan measurement Verstappen goes racing.

He is asked really nan on-track worldly does not blur into their off-track relationship.

"I don't deliberation he's done thing untoward towards me," Norris says. "He's raced against maine very, very toughly, arsenic he has nan correct to do. He's made my life very, very reliable astatine times. And he has nan correct to do that.

"I've said it galore times, I person a batch of respect for Max. The driver he is, nan personification he is, what he stands for each of nan time. And what he's achieved, his 4 world championships. That's 4 much than me, and he's had a batch much title wins than me.

"I respect those stats, those performances. But astatine nan aforesaid time, everyone does what they judge is best. Everyone does what they judge is right. And they title for themselves.

"Some whitethorn beryllium much fierce than others. But everyone has flaws. I person them. Maybe he has them.

"I title successful nan fierce measurement I judge is correct, and he does nan same. The stewards are nan ones who determine what is correct and wrong."

I inquire really he races pinch personification whose accuracy of racing, as Verstappen expressed successful a BBC Sport question and reply successful November, is: "When I title pinch someone, he will not beryllium capable to overtake maine astir nan outside."

Norris says: "When you're racing for wins, championships, against nan champion successful nan world, you tin ne'er expect things to beryllium easy. You study successful go-karting that you can't astatine each easy overtake astir nan outside. That is for illustration a norm number one.

"But it tin beryllium done, and it will beryllium done. But nan number 1 extremity for america is ever to finish. Sometimes, erstwhile you effort excessively hard, things tin spell wrong. You mightiness extremity up not finishing nan race, moreover though you mightiness beryllium successful nan right. So sometimes you've sewage to return nan safer approach."

Over his clip successful F1, Norris has been unfastened astir his struggles pinch self-belief. Verstappen transparently believes he's nan best. Does Norris judge that of himself?

"It's a tricky question," he says. "I do judge I'm nan champion driver. Maybe not connected each fixed day, and each azygous day.

"I do judge that I tin thrust quicker and execute amended than everyone other connected nan grid. But to execute astatine that level consistently is simply a very, very difficult thing, nary matter what nan conditions are, what car you're in, who you're against.

"That tin beryllium a much defining question. Maybe sometimes I find it difficult to admit and conscionable say. But I wouldn't beryllium racing successful Formula 1, I wouldn't beryllium fighting for a world championship, if I didn't judge heavy down that I could beryllium nan champion successful nan world."