Martin Brundle shares what we still ‘don’t know’ about Lando Norris’s F1 championship credentials

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The title battle between Lando Norris and defending F1 world champion Max Verstappen is set to go down to the wire with six races left.

Lando Norris must overcome a 52-point deficit to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship to secure his first title and McLaren’s first since 2008.

Verstappen has the upper hand given he is one of the most consistent drivers on the grid, having outperformed teammate Sergio Perez by a significant margin.

Red Bull has suffered a downturn in form in recent races and is banking on an upgrade at the next race in Austin to get their championship defence back on track, having now been overtaken by McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.

With Norris within a good chance of snatching the title away from Verstappen in the last six races, Martin Brundle believes there is still an unknown for the Briton when speaking to Sky Sports.

Martin Brundle highlights ‘unknown’ for Lando Norris

The Briton has forfeited a lot of points this season after making mistakes either during starts or when racing wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen on track.

Norris admitted that starts are the ‘number one’ thing he wants to improve after the summer break, while former driver Damon Hill believes much of Norris’ mistakes are down to the pressure from Piastri.

Brundle thinks there is still an unknown aspect of Norris on track in how he deals with pressure when trying to win a title, having not been in the position before in his F1 career.

“He’s got the speed; the team has certainly got a great car. I think Lando is growing and learning and getting more confident,” said Brundle.

“Chasing and being chased are two completely different stories in sport. So if he gets near to winning a world championship, how strong is his head going to be? We don’t know yet until that moment arrives.”

Helmut Marko shared ‘certain weakness’ he’s seen in Lando Norris

Although Red Bull’s car upgrades may end up playing a role in Verstappen’s late title defence, given McLaren is reluctant to make any significant changes to their car, Helmut Marko believes the Dutchman is superior to Norris.

Marko identified several ‘weaknesses’ that he thinks Norris has which Verstappen can exploit in the final six races of the season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

He believes Verstappen’s mental strength is stronger than Norris and that his ‘rituals’ pre-race get him into the zone better than the Briton, who always seems to fumble at starts.

Karun Chandhok expects Verstappen to edge Norris to the title, while Guenther Steiner thinks it will be a lot closer with McLaren and Red Bull when the season concludes in Abu Dhabi.