Lando Norris: In the fight with Max, you have to act smartly

      Having taken on the results of last season's second place in the individual standings, Lando Norris said that he was not ready to fight for the title with Max Verstappen. After running the new MCL39 car, the McLaren driver has revealed what he needs to do this year to beat his Red Bull Racing rival. Lando Norris: "I need to put my elbows out and show that I'm not going to lose ground to Max. At the same time I have to act with intelligence - it's just necessary in the fight with Max. I don't have to prove anything to him. I don't have to take unnecessary risks and show something special to get ahead of Max. He's fast, aggressive and one of the best drivers of all time, so the easiest way to get ahead of him is to be a little bit faster and stay in front. Like I said, you have to be smart because we are talking about playing the long game. Of course, there are areas where I have to add to, but the main difference that has to happen this year is that we have to score more points at the start of the season. And if we can do that, it will change the whole fight. It's about competing against one of the strongest riders who attacks and defends to the limit, as we saw in the Mexico City stage. He was ready to get off for the sake of the final result, and it's very difficult to counteract that kind of attitude when you're fifty points behind him. So this year I have to earn more points at the beginning of the season, and this will change the whole course of the fight. Given the way Max piloted and how aggressive he was on the track at the end of last season, I simply had no chance to win back. We must start the new season correctly - it will change the course of the fight for the title. And psychologically we need to be ready to take one step at a time. Let's just say we've already had a good first step. The team has taken a rather innovative approach in some of the design decisions of the new car".