Norris issued Verstappen comparison in 'mental weakness' judgement

Gerhard Berger has defended Lando Norris over what is perceived by some to be "mental weakness" from the McLaren driver.

The 65-year-old, who raced in F1 from 1984 to 1997, believes the British driver's mistakes last year were merely the culmination of him not being "ready" to fight with Max Verstappen for the F1 drivers' championship.

To illustrate his point, the 10-time grand prix winner drew comparisons between Norris and the Dutchman, highlighting a similar trajectory from the Red Bull driver as he grew into the force he is today.

Ultimately falling 63 points short of Verstappen last term, Berger suggested that McLaren's rise to constructors' title-winning prominence came too late for Norris, who flirted with mounting a serious championship challenge, but never got within striking distance of the 63-time grand prix winner.

There were a number of moments across the year where Norris was unable to maximise on opportunities, whilst Verstappen continued to rack up points with metronomic consistency, despite the RB20 proving to be a pale imitation of its predecessors. It was the lynchpin of his fourth-consecutive drivers' crown.

Meanwhile, Norris often found himself immediately slipping into the clutches of those behind, having qualified well. The first seven times in his F1 career he started from first, he failed to finish the first lap in the lead.

He broke that curse at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, storming to a comfortable victory from pole. Although, lapses in concentration saw him almost put his MCL38 in the wall on three separate occasions at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

However, to Berger, those missed chances and near misses from Norris will become less and less frequent as he builds towards being a driver capable of a sustained title hunt.

"I don't think Norris was ready for the title in the duel with Verstappen," the Austrian told Auto Motor und Sport.

"Perhaps McLaren and his car became a winning team a little too late. Basically, Norris is doing a very good job. He is an extremely talented driver.

"People try to interpret his mistakes as a mental weakness. But let's look back. Verstappen also made his mistakes at the beginning. With experience, that became less and less. That will also happen with Norris."