'It Wasn't Worth The Risk' Norris Explains Why He Didn't Attack Verstappen For Second Time
F1Wednesday, 08 November 2023 at 19:00
McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris explained why he only had one attempt at overtaking Max Verstappen during the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Lando Norris managed to surprise Max Verstappen when he kept pace with the Dutchman after the race restart following the red flag.
The McLaren driver used all his battery and DRS to attack Verstappen into the first corner on the eighth lap of the race. Verstappen went defensive, which compromised his line for the next straight, but held on to his place in the end.
At that point, it seemed like Norris would continue putting pressure on Verstappen, but he dropped back more than one second behind the Dutchman on throughout the rest of the lap. The 23-year-old explained to the media:
"I was low on the battery and those types of things. If you overheat the tires too much too early, you can pay the price quite heavily."
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The fresh tire advantage allowed Norris to go for the overtake at least once, but he could not afford to overheat his tires, breaks, and engine even more with the risk of losing pace.
"I tried. It wasn't worth a second attempt as much as I would have loved to and I think potentially could have done. Just it wasn't worth the risk and potential consequences of then being in the hands of Fernando and the people behind."
It was only a "couple of meters" that separated Norris from being able to try the move around the outside into turn 4 on Verstappen when attempted the overtake for the first time. He added:
"If there was a little bit more space, or if I was literally a couple metres further down, things could have been a little bit different."
Norris also added it would have been a great challenge to keep Verstappen behind himself for the rest of the race. However, Fernando Alonso showed it was possible with his defense against Sergio Perez on a faster Red Bull.
"But at the same time, to then try to keep Max behind for the rest of the race would have been a whole new challenge."
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