Norris wary of Verstappen, Hamilton 'tricks' despite F1 'respect'

Lando Norris is wary of the "tricks" he expects Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to play in the Singapore Grand Prix after the trio qualified as the top three.

Norris converted his strong practice form at Marina Bay into a fifth pole position of the season, and for the second time, he will start ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton, who have 144 pole positions between them.

At the Spanish GP, Verstappen jumped Norris on the run to Turn 1, with the McLaren driver yet to have led lap one from any pole position he has earned. 

Looking ahead to the 62-lap race in which he will be seeking to eat into Verstappen's 59-point championship lead, Norris warned of the nouse the two multiple world champions would deploy.

"It is something always to look forward to, I had a great battle with Max in Austria, however, it ended, and at other tracks too," he told media including RacingNews365.

"It doesn't change anything, they'll just probably try and play more tricks as they're smarter than other drivers and know how to play the longer or shorter game, probably more than other drivers, too. 

"I mean, it's pretty cool that I'm here and there are all the championships, and something like 150 wins (actually 166) between them, I've got nothing to compare to them."

Norris vs Verstappen vs Hamilton

Despite the "tricks" he expects, Norris was also determined not to let the situation distract him and called both "clean racing drivers."

"I find it cool that I am here, amongst them and think it is pretty awesome so I respect them a lot and have looked up to both of them for a long time, both literally and mentally," he said.

"It doesn't change what I do, how I go out and drive, mainly because when you are on track, and I probably know what to expect a bit more from them having seen them drive, which they do with respect, and they both want to drive as clean racing drivers."