Lando Norris rejects Max Verstappen surprise: 'Quite the opposite'

Lando Norris has firmly rejected the idea that Max Verstappen's resurgence in the F1 title race is a "surprise", believing it to be "quite the opposite."

Since the summer break, Verstappen has won three of the six races to eat into the lead of Oscar Piastri and Norris - with Norris reclaiming the points lead in Mexico City. 

He finds himself 36 points clear of Verstappen with 116 left on the board in the final four weekends. 

Ths scale of Red Bull and Verstappen's turnaround in form has caused some surprise given how dominant the McLarens were at Zandvoort, but Norris has firmly rejected the idea that Verstappen's turnaround in performance is a surprise.

When asked if he was surprised by Red Bull being able to turn its fortunes around in such a short space of time, Norris indicated that he was not. 

"No, because they won the last [two] constructors' [championships] before us, they have some pretty smart people in the team who have won multiple championships, and they were never that bad, like they were never that far off," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. 

"They had certain issues, and as soon as they addressed those issues [they were quick again],  so I think when you understand where we've come from, a couple of years ago, we made much bigger steps than what they did to win the championship. 

"So when you know what's possible, internally, from my team, McLaren, and how, once you kind of start to figure things out and understand things, what kind of differences you can make. That's the same with them. 

"They have an incredible team who have won many world championships, an incredible driver that, when you put things together, it cannot be a surprise.

"So when I think of everything that goes on, and when you understand how the aerodynamics work of the car and all these things, it's quite the opposite of a surprise."