{"id":30297,"date":"2025-02-13T13:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=30297"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:31:14","slug":"norris-prepared-to-get-elbows-out-against-verstappen-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/13\/norris-prepared-to-get-elbows-out-against-verstappen-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Norris prepared to get &#8220;elbows out&#8221; against Verstappen in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Despite claiming several victories and the constructors title, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/09\/lando-norris-i-have-what-it-takes-to-be-champion-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lando Norris<\/a> and McLaren finished last year with a sour taste in their mouths.<\/p>\n<p>Having enjoyed the fastest car for the majority of 2024, Norris still failed to secure the drivers&#8217; title. In a season defined by key flashpoints in Austria, COTA and Mexico, the 25-year-old was unable to dethrone Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p>As a new season approaches, the British driver is working to raise his level against the 4-time Champion.<\/p>\n<h2>Norris outlines necessary changes to fight Verstappen<\/h2>\n<p>To some extent, the dynamic of last year&#8217;s Championship battle were determined by the opening five rounds.<\/p>\n<p>It was the beginning of the season, when it seemed like Red Bull would dominate once again, that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/02\/max-verstappen-willing-to-cross-a-line-for-title-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Verstappen<\/a> a healthy advantage in the standings.<\/p>\n<p>This cushion, though not unassailable over a 24-race season, gave the Dutchman a key advantage.<\/p>\n<p>With every passing round that Norris and McLaren failed to close the gap, the pressure would slowly increase.<\/p>\n<p>This reached a tipping point in Brazil, where Norris missed a golden opportunity to close the gap &#8211; whilst Verstappen stormed from the back of the field to victory.<\/p>\n<p>After failing to take the crown last season, the British driver told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/f1\/news\/12479\/13307932\/lando-norris-says-he-needs-f1-title-lead-over-max-verstappen-to-contain-rivals-aggressive-driving-tactics\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sky Sports<\/a> what needs to change in 2025:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I need to get my elbows out, and I need to show him that I&#8217;m not going to willingly give him any positions &#8211; those kind of things. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;But I also have to be a smart driver. You have to be a smart driver to go up against Max &#8211; we saw it last year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I look forward to them. I like those moments when you have to make those quick decisions.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"U8WmSGCyRSx1c3YW4oDDBw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2182486601\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'U8WmSGCyRSx1c3YW4oDDBw',sig:'XkXuwH893sgxSPZmQ41yxb8sYm6UV03eFnJs8E3EsZE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2182486601',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>McLaren&#8217;s aim? Create a bigger advantage<\/h4>\n<p>Last year taught McLaren team principal Andrea Stella one crucial lesson &#8211; unless you produce a dominant car, nothing is guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst the papaya squad produced the fastest car in 2024, there were three other teams capable of winning races.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the circuit, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/11\/lewis-hamilton-positive-feedback-from-first-ferrari-runs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Ferrari<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/12\/mercedes-assign-bottas-with-role-of-mentoring-kimi-antonelli\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Mercedes<\/a> often interfered with Norris and McLaren&#8217;s efforts to hunt down Verstappen.<\/p>\n<p>Partly because of this, the British team&#8217;s philosophy for 2025 has been to make aggressive changes.<\/p>\n<p>Confident in the baseline established last year, McLaren&#8217;s latest challenger &#8211; the MCL39 &#8211; is an extreme evolution of its predecessor.<\/p>\n<p>Completing its first laps of 2025 earlier today in a filming day at Silverstone, the MCL39 featured visible changes to the sidepod, front suspension and halo.<\/p>\n<p>The British team&#8217;s hopes for this season are to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/02\/mclaren-join-ferrari-in-all-out-2025-development-approach\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">establish a big enough buffer<\/a> that they avoid a messy scrap for the title.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"zq0dKjo6Q3JIhyt5N4oqZw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2159375056\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'zq0dKjo6Q3JIhyt5N4oqZw',sig:'407EP0QX_8ZFT6v5rALR1S700lapaQk_G_5yEFXOVh8=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2159375056',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With that said, it is unlikely McLaren will have everything their own way in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Unless all three of their rivals drop the ball over winter, they will have company when round one begins in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Aware of this reality, Lando Norris is ready to go head-to-head with Verstappen:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s always a lot harder when you&#8217;re in the car than when you rewatch it after. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Even when I see some things that I do, I&#8217;m like &#8211; what the hell have I done? What an idiot.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;But at the same time, I want to say that I don&#8217;t need to go out and just prove something to him. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I don&#8217;t need to take any unnecessary risks, and don&#8217;t need to go down trying necessarily &#8211; I just keep focusing on myself.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think you have to do anything special to try and beat Max.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;He&#8217;s quick, he&#8217;s aggressive, he&#8217;s one of the best ever&#8230; <\/em><em>You&#8217;ve just got to be smart. That&#8217;s the answer to it all.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;You have to be smart and you have to position the car well, and also think of the long game sometimes.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite claiming several victories and the constructors title, Lando Norris and McLaren finished last year with a sour taste in their mouths. Having enjoyed the fastest car for the majority of 2024, Norris still failed to secure the drivers&#8217; title. In a season defined by key flashpoints in Austria, COTA and Mexico, the 25-year-old was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":30299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,465,66,2323],"class_list":["post-30297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-f1-news","tag-mclaren","tag-norris"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30297"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30314,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30297\/revisions\/30314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}