1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell described Lando Norris’s battle with Max Verstappen as a ‘mistake’ for the British driver, but Norris said that by fighting Verstappen, he actually ‘won’ this battle.
While the start of 2024 indicates that Red Bull and Verstappen will dominate this season again, McLaren and Norris have shown progress in breaking this cycle. Currently, McLaren leads the constructors’ championship, and Norris is trying to close the 52-point gap with Verstappen.
Although they’ve had a clean rivalry throughout the season, the pair made contact while battling for the lead at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Following this, Mansell thought his fellow Briton Norris made a notable mistake in Austria.
Speaking to Top Offshore Sportsbook, he said, “Lando made a mistake by trying to overtake Verstappen from the outside in Austria.”
“You can’t overtake a multiple world champion from the outside. If he hadn’t tried, Lando would have won the race and could be 25 points closer to Verstappen now,” Mansell said.
However, Norris doesn’t view what happened with Verstappen in Austria as negatively.
Speaking to The Athletic, Norris said, “Max is probably the toughest driver you can compete against on the grid.”
“Things didn’t turn out the way I wanted in Austria, but on that Sunday, even though I didn’t win the race, I feel like I won against Verstappen.”
