Norris makes 'very tough' prediction with close friend Verstappen

Lando Norris has predicted that it would be "very tough" to fight for the drivers' championship against a close friend, something he is not too far from doing this season. 

Speaking in a RacingNews365 exclusive, Norris has addressed what he thinks it would be like fighting good friend Max Verstappen for the title, a situation he has somewhat found himself in this year. 

Verstappen leads Norris by 78 points and could theoretically miss three races which follow the traditional F1 format, and return at worst level in the lead of the standings. 

It is the first time in Norris' F1 career that his name has been included in championship fight talks, with himself and Verstappen having already battled on multiple occasions across the 14 completed rounds. 

Simply being towards the top of the standings is a very new experience for Norris, without even taking into account that the driver he is directly behind is someone he is close with. 

When asked in a RacingNews365 exclusive if it is possible to fight a close friend for an F1 title, Norris replied: "I don't know. Honestly, I don't think I can answer it because I'm only here now, so there's only so much I can answer for.

"And there's things you learn when you're there, a bit like in Hungary, a bit of it was because I'm fighting for a world championship now. What questions do I need to ask for myself? 

"So some of it is as much as you want to prepare and all of these things, and if you're prepared, there's always like, 'Oh now I'm in this situation'. And when you're in the car, and you're there it's very different to just going 'When I'm in a car, what am I going to be thinking? Or am I gonna be thinking of that?' 

"You can prepare for some of that, but the emotion and the adrenaline and everything you just can't replicate and just go 'Yeah, I will be thinking of that. I need to think of this. I need to do that'."

Norris and Verstappen still to socialise

It has been an exceptional season so far for Norris, with the Briton having finally claimed his maiden F1 victory in the Miami Grand Prix. 

There have been highs but also lows, most notably his collision with Verstappen in the Austrian Grand Prix whilst battling for the race lead. 

On that occasion, Norris was forced to retire from the race, leading to immediate questions surrounding his friendship with the Red Bull driver. 

After speaking, both brushed the incident under the carpet; however, Norris does believe fighting a friend for the title would be challenging. 

Despite this, he has no intention on replicating previous champions in not socialising with fellow competitors, with Norris still intending on spending time with the likes of Verstappen and former team-mate Carlos Sainz away from the paddock.

"It's a situation that I don't know, and I've not been through before, I think it'd be very tough," continued Norris, discussing fighting a friend for the title. "But I still hope so because as much as I want to win, just because I'm good friends with Max didn't change anything that happened in Austria. 

"I attempted several overtakes, didn't go to plan. We ended up crashing. None of this was because [I was] more lenient or less lenient, because we played padel two weeks prior. None of that changed. So people just like to talk about it and use it as a topic. 

"They think they know answers, just because they tried to look at history, 'Oh that didn't go well for them'. As much as I respect historical data, I also don't care because I'm myself and I'm different. 

"And I want to enjoy my time, in the paddock and away from the paddock. And if that is with Max or Carlos playing golf or whatever, so be it. It has absolutely zero relevance. 

"But just because previous champions were the opposite, very happy for them. They did their thing, I'm doing my thing. As long as I'm happy for me and my life, that's what matters."