Brundle spots where Lando Norris first ‘underestimated’ Max Verstappen

When McLaren introduced its impressive upgrade package for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, the tides of the season seemed to change. Rather than another dominant show from Max Verstappen, perhaps Lando Norris could carry his machinery to a World Championship.

We know now that, despite fighting hard, Norris wasn’t able to make the magic happen — and Martin Brundle thinks he knows just where the British racer went wrong.

Lando Norris learns difference between “chasing and being chased”

There’s no denying that the Miami Grand Prix changed the tides of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Prior to that point, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had yet again been dominant, taking four wins in five races in what seemed to be another straightforward pursuit of a championship.

But in Miami, McLaren’s upgrades turned the tides. Lando Norris took his first race win, and his dogged pursuit of Verstappen saw him finish less than a second behind the Red Bull driver at Imola, proving that the team’s pace was no fluke.

Norris, though, had plenty of learning before him. He’d taken that critical first win, yes — but transforming one victory into a season-long battle for a championship is no simple task.

Especially when your opposition is Max Verstappen.

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Away from the track, Norris and Verstappen have been friendly — and according to Martin Brundle in an October chat with Sky Sports F1, that camaraderie may very well have been Norris’ undoing, beginning with the 11th race of the season.

“In Austria, we saw they tripped over each other,” Brundle explained.

“Lando underestimated his mate Max as to how aggressive he would be in combat. I think he’s learned from that. He’s still on a slope like that in terms of learning.”

While there were plenty of decisive moments in the 2024 title fight, Brundle believes the run-in with Verstappen was critical for Norris’ growth as a driver. The Briton perhaps assumed that an off-track friendship would amount to on-track deference — but that isn’t Verstappen’s style.

Still, it was an instructive moment, and Brundle identified several other areas where Norris has grown.

“Winning races consistently — he’s just started to do that now,” he said in October.

“Leading from pole at the end of the first lap — he’s got that sorted out. And just the way he won in Holland, and the way he won in Singapore was just incredible. All those things will give him confidence.”

Norris, Brundle said, has the “speed,” and McLaren have provided him with a great car. But “chasing and being chased — two completely different stories, in any sport.”

“If he gets near to winning the World Championship, whether it’s this year or next year: How’s his head? How strong is his head?

“Which we don’t know anything with anybody until that moment arrives.

“But it looks like he’s got the raw speed, anyway, when he gets there.”

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