Verstappen has no regrets about his controversial actions against Norris: "I will do everything I can to win"

Max Verstappen salary. Lando Norris : this is the duel that animated the second part of the 2024 season of Formula 1On the one hand, the Dutchman, the clear leader of the championship, had to manage his lead despite a Red Bull less and less efficient as the year went on. On the other hand, the Briton, perhaps still a little too tender, tried to steal points on each Grand Prix weekend with a McLaren impressive consistency and speed. Ultimately, the match turned in favor of Max Verstappen, who won his fourth F1 world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

If the Dutchman won his fourth world crown with two races remaining in the season, it was not without having delivered a fierce battle against Lando Norris in the rounds preceding his coronation. On several occasions, the two men found themselves face-to-face on the track… and sometimes, with a bang. In Austin, the Briton received a 5-second penalty after the latter overtook Max Verstappen outside the track limits to gain 3rd place. A sanction that caused controversy, since the Dutchman had not hesitated to push the Englishman outside the track limits. McLaren had also tried to cancel this penalty, without success.

A week later, in Mexico, again : on the 10th lap, Max Verstappen twice pushed Lando Norris out of the track limits with two maneuvers that were far too muscular. This time, it was the Red Bull driver who was penalized, with two penalties of 10 seconds each, thus relegating him to 6th place at the finish. These two episodes had aroused tensions between the two drivers, who are nevertheless friends in real life.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? 🤯🤯🤯#MexicoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/lgIDjiLaty

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 27, 2024

The rough defenses "sometimes necessary" according to Verstappen

However, a few months after these two American Grands Prix and these two controversial battles, Max Verstappen does not regret having played with the rules and with the limits to impose himself against Lando Norris, sometimes adopting contentious defenses. "There were some difficult races, some defences and some doubtful moments, but I know what I'm doing, I have complete control over what I'm doing, he says in an interview with F1. Sometimes, of course, I have an idea in mind. I have good control over what I execute on the track. Sometimes it is necessary. I will do everything I can to win. I hate losing. I can recognize when someone does a better job, but it is still not nice to lose. That is the determining factor, we have to be better. Even when we dominated in 2023, we wanted to perform even better. That is something that taught us a lot in 2024.

If his dominance was (a little) contested in 2024 with a year 2023 without competition, Max Verstappen assures that the better competitiveness of the grid pleases him, he who must deploy more to win now against McLaren, Ferrari et MercedesThe Dutchman knows that going for a fifth consecutive title will not be an easy task in 2025, but the quadruple world champion is ready for the challenge, always remaining loyal to Red Bull despite the many departure rumours that have marked this season. "I love it, I have a contract until 2028. After that, I don't want to think about it yet. A lot of things can happen. But for now, I'm very happy where I am.", he recalls, before starting his 11th season – already – in F1.

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