Lando Norris dealt crucial Max Verstappen message

Lando Norris has been dealt a crucial message by Johnny Herbert, to implement what he has learnt from his battles with Max Verstappen should he want to claim a maiden F1 drivers' title this season.

The McLaren driver entered the current campaign as the favourite to become world champion come the season finale; however, it is team-mate Oscar Piastri who leads the way. 

Piastri has won four of the opening seven rounds and has a 16-point advantage over Norris, with the title looking likely to be between the McLaren duo - however Max Verstappen kept himself in the conversation with a second win of the year last weekend at Imola. 

Both have shown strong pace, although Piastri has made considerably fewer mistakes than his team-mate. 

This is partly what has seen Norris slip behind the Australian, with the number of errors being made by the Briton having cost him crucial points already this year.

Herbert is confident that the 25-year-old is fast enough to become world champion this year, but must improve his performances and learn from his previous battles with Verstappen.

"It's one of those things, you've got to say Lando has to probably up his game a little bit more," Herbert told Talksport. 

"The mistakes that have probably crept in a little bit too often compared to Oscar, who seems to be on a very good run at the present time. 

"It's something he's going to learn from. He's going to have to then implement all what he's learning from seeing what he's had racing with Max Verstappen, for example, seeing what's happening with his team-mate as well. 

"Is he out of the running? No, he's not. Is he fast enough? Absolutely. So it's just really him being able to dig deep, get in all the performance he can out of the car, and all the energy actually out of the team as well, and try and use that when he gets in the cockpit of the car. 

"It's is far from over this championship, but it looks as if it's definitely going to be a battle between Lando and Oscar."