Norris confidence swells after Hamilton-Verstappen duels

Lando Norris has revealed that duels with championship combatants Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have given him "more confidence" he could come out on top with equal machinery.

Norris continued his rise up the order in his third season racing in F1, ending the year sixth overall and on a career-best 160 points.

During the season, Norris enjoyed battles with both Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, with the Briton viewing the tussles as a positive.

"The only thing it really gives you is confidence, that if you're there more often or you have a better car, there's no reason why they should be able to beat you if you're in the same car as them," said Norris in an end-of-season interview including GPFans.

"Every time I race against Lewis, or [Valtteri] Bottas, or Max, or [Sergio] Perez, I think the only thing it really gives you is more confidence that you know that when you are more often in this position, whether it's next year or in two years, you feel ready to race against them all the time and ready to beat them."

Asked if a different kind of driving was required when battling with the Red Bull and Mercedes championship contenders, Norris added: "A little bit.

"They're not just in better cars, but generally, the guys who are in better cars are also going to be the more experienced or better drivers.

"So there's a little bit more pressure because you know that they'll think of every plan or strategy possible for how to get past you and so on.

"That's the only thing, is that you know that they'll be thinking of every single thing possible in order to attack you and to race against you and overtake you."

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