‘I need to get my elbows out’ – Norris insists he’s ‘learned a lot’ from battles with Verstappen as he shares 2025 approach

Lando Norris has described himself as “relaxed, comfortable and determined” in the build-up to the 2025 Formula 1 season as he looks to turn his challenge for last year’s Drivers’ Championship into title glory this time out.

After McLaren’s slow start to the 2024 campaign, potent car upgrades enabled Norris to take the fight to Red Bull rival Max Verstappen, with honours eventually being settled in the Dutchman’s favour at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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As the new term approaches, and with McLaren entering it as Constructors’ Champions, having overcome Ferrari and Red Bull last year, Norris spoke of personal and collective excitement for the opportunities ahead.

“My mindset at the minute is great,” Norris told media at British Grand Prix venue Silverstone on Thursday, after McLaren ran their MCL39 challenger for the first time. “I definitely think it’s different to how it was last year.

Norris gave eventual champion Verstappen a run for his money last season

“I feel like last year was a very good year for me, not just because… not results-wise, but mentality-wise, approach-wise. As you guys [the media] know, I’ve never been one to be overconfident with any of my predictions and those kinds of things that I’ve done. I’ve always been honest and definitely always glass half empty rather than half full mentality.

“I’ve always liked to prove to myself that I can do what I want to achieve. Last year I proved to myself that I can fight against Max and I can win races, I can do an Abu Dhabi, [claim] pole and get off the line. A lot of my mentality is based off that, which is maybe not always the best thing, but it’s how I work, how I live.

“I feel like I’m very relaxed, but in a comfortable way, in a determined way. I feel like I can keep things under control, I’m not getting too nervous, or too ahead of myself, those kinds of things. I’m very excited. I feel good, I feel good about the team. I think the main thing is I’m just calm with everything. I’m excited but I’m calm.”

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Norris then discussed what he learned from his various battles and flashpoints with Verstappen throughout last season and what he might do differently in the campaign ahead – stressing he “wants to race” the reigning champion.

“Even though the majority of the time we were quicker, and I had a better car for a lot of the races, which I can happily admit, there were some things where I just didn’t do a good enough job,” he said. “I wasn’t, simply, quite at the level that I needed to be to race against Max.

“We’re talking about probably going up against one of the hardest attacking, defence guys you can ever go up against. I don’t want to go through all these things again, but like we saw in Mexico, [he] very willingly sacrificed himself for the benefit of the overall outcome.

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“When that’s the mentality of a driver, whether it’s Max or any driver, that’s a very difficult one to come on top of, when you’re 50 points behind or 40 points behind in the championship. What’s the main thing that’s got to change this year? I just need more points from the beginning.

“With how he drives, and the risks that he takes, and the aggressiveness that he has, there was almost no way that I could come back from the deficit that I had, because there would have been too many scenarios that replicated Mexico or the Red Bull Ring, where we were both out in a way, and it benefitted him more than me.

“It was a tough year, but I think I learned a lot from those moments. There’s definitely things that I need to do better. Again, I’ll always be the first to admit it. I don’t need people telling me these kinds of things. I have people who will help me through these situations and advise me, and I use my friends around me who are also drivers.”

Pushed about “making a point” to Verstappen, Norris pondered his answer before stating: “I need to get my elbows out and I need to show him that I’m not going to willingly give him any positions, but I also have to be a smart driver. You have to be a smart driver to go up against Max – we saw it last year.

“At the same time, I want to say I don’t need to go out and prove something to him. I don’t need to take any unnecessary risks and I don’t need to go down trying. I’ll just keep focusing on myself. Max is quick, he’s aggressive, one of the best ever. The easy way is just going out, being a bit quicker than him and staying ahead. That’s the obvious plan.”