'Absolutely' - Lando Norris makes bold Max Verstappen clash prediction

Lando Norris has maintained on-track tensions will come to a head with Max Verstappen again this season, as he prepares to embark on an F1 drivers' championship charge - which could well feature the Dutchman prominently.

Whilst the McLaren driver is the bookmakers' favourite heading into the year, it remains unclear how strong a defence the current title holder will be able to mount.

Norris will start the curtain raiser in Australia from pole, with Verstappen lining up directly behind him in third, despite insisting he cannot win at Albert Park.

That may prove to be the case, but the start of the race will see the pair in close proximity - even if potentially only briefly. 

Although, as last season proved, the year is long and the two may well find themselves engaged in another bitter fight, which Norris ultimately lost by 63 points in 2024.

Last term, the pair came to blows multiple times on track as their friendly relationship off the asphalt was pushed to the limit.

Verstappen undoubtedly enjoyed the upper hand and asserted his dominance, inflicting numerous bruising defeats on the Briton.

With their rivalry set to resume at Albert Park, Norris does not feel the need to leave an early mark on Verstappen - or a reducer as it is known in football.

The four-time grand prix winner explained he will not know how to react to any given situation until he is on track in the heat of battle.

"It’s a tough one," the 25-year-old told The Standard. "There’s no need to do anything unnecessary. But you also don’t want to be the person that gets rolled over at any point. You do want to start off in the best way possible and get your mark down as early as possible.

"You have those two sides — you want to prove your point, but it’s also a long season. I prepare as much as possible but until that moment arrives, [when] I’m on track and I’m thinking ’what do I do now?’, there’s no need to overthink it. I have to react then and there."

Norris predicts moments of dislike with Verstappen

Norris expects there to be moments when the pair "don't like each other" over the 24 rounds ahead, but was quick to highlight how the extensive media duties burdened upon F1 drivers oftentimes exacerbates individual rivalries.

In another football comparison, the McLaren driver pointed out that players do not have to conduct the sheer amount of interviews he and his peers do.

"Are we going to have a lot more moments where we come head-to-head? Absolutely," Norris explained. "Are we going to have moments where we probably don’t like each other? Absolutely.

"But that’s normal, it happens in every other sport. It just isn’t always vocalised because there isn’t as much media in other sports as there is in F1.

"You have football players who hate each other but they don’t have 15 interviews after every match talking about it, whereas we do. Things get highlighted in a much easier way."