Norris cools F1 title hopes ahead of Italian Grand Prix – Sports

Although Max Verstappen’s aura of invincibility has faded ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Lando Norris on Thursday played down the chances of him dethroning the world champion for the Formula One drivers’ title.

McLaren driver Norris led three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen by nearly 23 seconds at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix and now trails him by 70 points with nine races remaining.

But when asked how much the overwhelming win at Zandvoort had boosted his confidence, Norris replied with a brisk “Not much.”

“For me, winning is incredible and really one of the best feelings you can have because this is my dream and what I always wanted to achieve… but I didn’t think about the championship at all,” he said.

“The only thing I care about right now is this weekend. I don’t care about next weekend or the weekend after that, I just care about what I can do today, what I can do tomorrow, what I can do Saturday… That’s my process.”

Norris has nine podiums and two wins this season, and with a host of recent upgrades McLaren has given him and team-mate Oscar Piastri the car that looks to be the best on the grid.

McLaren currently trails Verstappen’s Red Bull by just 30 points and have a chance to win the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998.

“It gives the team a lot of confidence and it’s always a little bit of a boost, but it doesn’t change the way you feel,” Norris said.

“Of course we are fighting hard every weekend. Our goal is to catch them in both areas, especially in the teams area, which is easier to achieve than in the drivers area.”

Max Verstappen insisted winning a fourth consecutive F1 drivers’ title “would not change my life” as he looked back at Norris.

“Not in my control”

The 26-year-old Dutch driver looked certain to continue his dominance of the sport when he won the Spanish Grand Prix in June, but a winless streak and just two podium finishes in the past five races has cast doubt on him.

“Do I want to win? Of course… It doesn’t depend on the performance of the car because I just want to do the best I can, try to give feedback and try to make it faster. As for whether that will be enough to see me through to the end of the year, I don’t know,” Verstappen told reporters.

“I also know that it’s unrealistic to have a season like we had last year. But did I expect it to be like this? I really didn’t.”

Lewis Hamilton, a Ferrari reserve driver who will switch to the team next year, said arriving at Monza “does feel a bit different”.

“I didn’t know what to expect. To be honest with you, the last few years, I mean the last few years, I’ve had a very warm welcome,” Hamilton said.

“There was one time when we were really competing against Ferrari, I can’t remember what year it was, but even then people were very positive. There was never any negativity.”