Norris expects to 'crash more' with Verstappen

Lando Norris has stated that he expects to “crash more” with Verstappen as they challenge each other at the front of the F1 field.

Norris and Verstappen are known to share a strong friendship away from the track, and have done so for several years.

But the relationship has been called into question of late with McLaren and Norris now a consistent front-runner in F1 against Verstappen.

At the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this year, Norris and Verstappen clashed in the closing stages of the race as they battled for the win, marking the first flashpoint between the pair.

As he aims to secure his first F1 title in the near future, Norris insisted he expects to have more clashes with the three-time world champion. 

“I expect to crash more in the future with different people, with Max,” Norris told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. 

“Not because it's an expectation of I expect to crash with them - it's just those scenarios and circumstances always happen. 

“With another five or 10 years in F1, you're going to have those situations at some point.”

Norris on separating friendships from rivalries

Norris has been Verstappen's most consistent challenger so far this year but has emerged victorious just once, making seven other trips to the podium - often in second place.

Norris insisted he holds the ability to separate his personal afflictions from his professional commitments on the track.

“What I do out there [outside of F1] is a different world,” Norris told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview. 

“It's a different life. It's a different mentality. I don't even use the same brain here versus what I’m thinking during the race when I got my helmet on. 

“I couldn't care less if I played padel with someone last week or went out for dinner with someone.

“It doesn't change what I want to do on track, which is to win. If anything, it makes you want to beat them more, rather than less.

“For me, it's just two different worlds and what I do away from a track. 

“How I act and the people I’m with away from the track couldn’t be any further apart from my mentality of being a racing driver and being inside the car.”