Hamilton on Norris: ‘He’s really risen to the occasion’

Lewis Hamilton says he’s watching with excitement the battle for F1’s world title unfold between its two protagonists, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, and has so far been impressed by how the latter has “risen to the occasion” against his intrepid rival.

Ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, 47 points separate the two drivers in the Drivers’ standings, while McLaren now has a firm grip on the Constructors’ Championship.

Just like F1’s impassioned fans, Hamilton is captivated by the fierce fight at the front of the field, which he believes offers a refreshing change from the recent years of dominance by a single driver.

“I think it’s really exciting for the sport, firstly, too,” Hamilton said at Interlagos on Thursday.

“The last couple of years, not necessarily so exciting, obviously, with Max just leading the way and that sometimes happens.

“But I think it’s been really exciting for the fans to see that it can go right down to the wire at the end of the year. There’s still a possibility of Lando catching up.

“I read somewhere, I think he’s got to get 11 points more or something in each race or something over these next races, which is definitely possible with the performance they have.

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“We all know Max and his strengths and can’t really say too many weaknesses, if any. And you’ve got, obviously, Lando, who’s really risen to the occasion and has been really leading the team.

“Yeah, I’m really excited to see what happens over these next races. I’m hoping that I can at least have a good seat view to watch it all as they’ll be ahead.”

This season, more than ever, Norris has been forced to deal with Verstappen’s aggressive approach and controversial racing tactics.

Hamilton himself has a long history with the Red Bull driver, a rivalry that intensified during their epic 2021 season, marked by contentious incidents and intense on-track battles.

When asked about Verstappen’s race tactics this year, Hamilton opted to take a step back, noting that it’s a situation between Norris and Verstappen, although he admitted that he doesn’t see much difference between the Dutchman’s current approach and his past rules of engagement.

“All you have to do is just go back and listen to my radio comments back in the day,” he said.

“It’s not really something I really want to tap into. It’s nothing to do with me at the moment.

“So obviously, if I was in the battle, I could lean in more into it. But these are the things you have to ask those two, because they’re the ones that it’s affecting.

“But I don’t think you see much difference across the years from 2021 to now. It’s pretty much the same.”

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