Lando Norris has narrowed the gap in speed between himself and Max Verstappen and is now aiming to defeat the Formula One star at Red Bull’s home track.
Norris has guided his McLaren to two consecutive second-place finishes behind the reigning champion. This weekend, his challenge is to try to outperform Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring, where Verstappen has won four of the last six races. Although Red Bull is based in Britain, the team holds an Austrian license.
Verstappen dominated last year by winning 19 out of 23 races, with his Red Bull teammate Sergio Pérez adding another two wins, leaving Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as the only other driver to claim a victory.
In 2024, Verstappen leads with seven wins in 10 races, but he faces stiffer competition from the rest of the field.
Norris has emerged as Verstappen’s primary challenger since the 24-year-old British driver secured his first career win in Miami in May.
In Montreal, Norris finished second to Verstappen three weeks ago, and he had a strong showing at the Spanish GP last weekend. Norris outpaced Verstappen to take pole position in qualifying but struggled with a poor start that he believed cost him a win in Barcelona.
Verstappen acknowledged that McLaren currently excels in some areas, particularly in managing their tires.
“McLaren right now are very consistent,” Verstappen said Thursday. “They perform well at every track.
“In Barcelona, they were especially good at preserving their tires. They could push harder on them compared to everyone else on the grid … Lando was definitely gaining ground.”
Norris has risen to second place in the drivers’ standings, 69 points behind Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc two points behind Norris in third.
In Spain, Norris was convinced that his car was the fastest — he even set the fastest lap of the race — but a poor start allowed both Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell to pass him, leading to a second-place finish.
