Zak Brown tells Lando Norris what he must stop doing if he wants to beat Max Verstappen

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Lando Norris could see his world championship hopes officially extinguished this weekend. If he finishes below Max Verstappen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver will seal the title.

More specifically, Norris must outscore Verstappen by at least three points to take the fight to Qatar. But it’s simply a case of delaying the inevitable at this stage.

Verstappen only needs 24 more points to take what would be a fourth consecutive world championship. That’s an average of eight per weekend (he’s on 18.7 as it stands).

Opinions will differ on whether Verstappen’s triumph constitutes a failure for Norris. The Dutchman won four of the first five races in a spell where only unreliability could stop him.

He was already 52 points ahead of Norris at that point. That means the McLaren star has looked like an outsider since Miami, when a major upgrade gave him a car good enough to compete for victory at almost every race.

But there’s also a feeling that Norris and his team have left plentiful points on the table this year. Many will feel he should be in a position to, at the very least, take the fight to Abu Dhabi.

Zak Brown suggests Lando Norris should be less ‘open’ in his battle with Max Verstappen

During an interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was asked about the contrast between Norris and Verstappen. The former ‘talks about’ problems, while the latter ‘solves’ them.

While Helmut Marko says Norris has ‘certain weaknesses’ in his mentality, Brown welcomes his driver’s willingness to accept his own flaws. Still, he hinted that it may be best to do this in private.

Norris might be ‘better off holding back’ next year when he’ll likely take on Verstappen once again. Still, Brown is happy with his approach to wheel-to-wheel combat.

He feels the Briton has upheld the collective values at Woking by racing the Red Bull in a ‘fair’ manner. In doing so, he ignited a debate about Verstappen’s driving style.

“The world has changed,” Brown said. “More transparent. Today, admitting weaknesses is a strength. We all have them.

“Maybe Lando is too open sometimes and he would be better off holding back on certain things. But I don’t think that translates into a weakness on the racetrack.

“Lando drove brilliantly in Austin. The only thing he could have done differently would have been to drive into Max’s car. But that’s not our style, and not Lando’s either.

“At least it sparked a big discussion about the rules of the game. That’s necessary. Lando drives hard but fair.”

McLaren star Lando Norris is clearly taking F1 more seriously after one change to his routine

2024 is the first season where Norris has been able to compete for a title. While McLaren have an illustrious history, they haven’t regularly won races since 2012.

They didn’t necessarily expect to be in this position, either. Having arguably finished last season as Red Bull’s closest challengers, they would have hoped to at least win one or two Grands Prix.

But few would have believed that they’d be 49 points ahead of Christian Horner’s squad in the constructors’ with three races to go. Norris is becoming more assertive on the radio but he must continue to develop.

He’s also made changes to his routine, highlighting his improved focus on race weekends. Norris has stopped gaming when he attends Grands Prix to improve the quality of sleep.