Norris: I am here to win races and not settle for second

Norris finished P2 to Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend after pitting on the same lap as the Red Bull driver, leading to suggestions that a more daring strategy could have allowed McLaren to undercut the four-time world champion.

Oscar Piastri, who finished P3, had stopped one lap earlier, prompting debate over whether McLaren missed a tactical opportunity.

Reflecting on the result, Norris admitted: “Of course, we were not happy after last weekend – we were happy because we had second and third, a great result as a team still. But could it have been better and could we have potentially taken more risks and been a bit more attacking as a team? Yes.

“So it’s a review into these weekends to maybe be a bit more attacking at times. I am here to win races and not settle for second, so definitely from my side, I would love to kind of go back and redo things with a slightly more aggressive approach. I do know deep down that it’s a long season and sometimes points on the board is better than taking unnecessary risks.”

Australian Grand Prix winner Norris currently leads the 2025 F1 Drivers’ Championship by a single point over Verstappen after three rounds, with Piastri 13 points further behind ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. All three frontrunners have taken one win each in the early stages of a tightly contested season.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested McLaren risk complicating their title campaign by trying to support both of their drivers equally. But Norris remains confident in the approach McLaren are taking.

“It’s never just down to me,” Norris said. “Of course, I’ll maybe push my preferences more or I can be a bit more forceful and can be more demanding with certain things and in certain cases.

“I also always know that the team have the best picture of the whole race, better than any other driver. But I also have the best feeling of the car, how overtaking might be. You just need harmony between you and your race engineer and strategy team.

“It might be that I need to potentially be more demanding at times and more pushing of the team, but it is just getting the dynamic right between that risk-reward factor," explained Norris.

Despite the external criticism following Suzuka, Norris remains supportive of McLaren’s decision-making and strategy: “There was no guarantee for everything so, however much people want to talk and say things and say how bad of a job we did, I disagree and I stand always by our decisions as a team. I have a lot of trust and faith that we always have our best interest at heart.” (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)