Martin Brundle has told Lando Norris that he ‘needs to stop putting the welcome out on the inside’ during his battles with Max Verstappen . The three-time world champion moved to the inside in both the Turn One and Turn 12 battles at the Circuit of the Americas, coming out on top on both occasions. The two championship contenders shared a dramatic battle at the United States Grand Prix and while, for the most part, the moves were respectful, Norris lost out to Verstappen’s aggressive style on a couple of occasions.
Critically for Norris, he lost the lead at the opening corner after starting from pole position. The Brit moved over to cover off the threat of Verstappen but wasn’t aggressive enough, leaving a sliver of a gap on the inside for the Dutchman to move into. From there, he was pushed wide at the Turn One exit with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both squeezing through.
Norris, meanwhile, was shuffled back to fourth, forcing him to attempt a pass on Verstappen for third place later in the Grand Prix. Offering his advice on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast in Mexico, Brundle said: “Lando needs to stop putting the welcome out on the inside because Max Verstappen does not need a second invitation. “He doesn’t need a first invitation to go up the inside if you’re leaving a car’s width.
He’s a street fighter. He races hard. He games the regulations, he games them hard and he gains them well and he sometimes pushes the limit.
” Unfortunate.
