Norris pledges tactical changes following intense US Grand Prix battle with Verstappen

MEXICO CITY -- Lando Norris has indicated that he will be making adjustments to his racing strategy when competing against Max Verstappen, following the dramatic end to their contest at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Norris managed to overtake Verstappen for third place late in the Austin race, only to be forced off track during the maneuver. Verstappen also ventured off track while defending his position. The stewards ruled that Norris had gained an unfair advantage by leaving the circuit, leading to a five-second penalty and demotion behind Verstappen. Norris later described the penalty as a "momentum killer" in his championship quest against the Red Bull driver.

When asked about the need for increased aggressiveness to beat Verstappen, Norris responded, "It's not an easy answer, honestly. It's not as simple as just saying yes. Do I need to make some changes? Yes. And still adapt a little bit more. But 'is everything I'm doing wrong' also is a no.

"So it's a tough position to be in because like we saw, Max didn't care if he won, or second, or third. His only job was to beat me, and he did that, so he did a good job from that side. And I had a lot of fun, and I respected our battle that we had. But yeah, he still ended up on top, and I need to be beating him, so some little things I need to change, but I don't need to change my whole approach."

Norris is currently 57 points behind Verstappen with five races and two sprint races remaining in the season.

The McLaren driver's approach has been a hot topic this season, particularly after their controversial battle in Austin. Even before the late-race incident, Norris had been pushed wide by Verstappen at Turn 1, losing the lead in the process.

Norris believes he has been instrumental in avoiding further collisions since their incident at the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this year.

"Clearly Max is very good at what he does, and is probably the best in the world at what he does. So when I'm going up against the best in the world, it's not going to be an easy thing to do. And he's been racing in this position for longer than I have, I'm definitely not doing a perfect job, but I'm not doing a bad job," Norris reflected. "I'm still staying there, I'm avoiding collisions, which a lot of things that we've done could have easily been and turned into worse things, like bigger crashes and stuff."

He added, "It's clear what his intentions are. It's a difficult route for me to get around, getting caught up in collisions and things like Turn 1 easily could have been, or Turn 12 easily could have been. So he's in a much more powerful position than I am; it's up to me and the team to try and overcome that."

Norris maintains his disagreement with the penalty he received, a subject that took center stage during Thursday's media day ahead of this week's Mexico City Grand Prix.

"I have not spoken to Max at all [about it]. Because he did what I guess he thought was right; I did what I thought was right. I still disagree, and I think as a team, we still disagree. I think the majority of people who were watching disagreed with the penalty that I got," said Norris.

"But I'll make the changes that I need to make, whether it's being more aggressive at times, or less aggressive, or whatever. I'll do what I think is right."

Norris' reflections and strategy adjustments add yet another layer of intrigue as the season progresses, with every race becoming increasingly crucial in the battle for the title.

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