Norris told 'have the confidence to crash into Verstappen' by ex-F1 boss

Former Formula 1 team boss Guenther Steiner has suggested that Lando Norris needs to gain the confidence to 'crash' into Max Verstappen, after being pushed off the track by the Dutchman once again at the Miami Grand Prix.

Norris went down from second to sixth at the first corner in Miami, after squabbling with Verstappen into the first corner and having to take avoiding action or risk ending his participation in the race.

As Verstappen was technically ahead heading into the corner, the Dutchman was not punished for the move that hampered Norris' race, but it was one of a number of marginal calls that have gone against Norris in the last 12 months.

The Brit did recover to finish second, but he has come in for some criticism of late for not being decisive enough, and he now sits 16 points behind team-mate Oscar Piastri in the drivers' championship having lost the championship to Verstappen in 2024.

Norris recently revealed how four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is helping him with his approach to interviews and the start of race weekends, but now former Haas boss Steiner has given him some more advice.

"Focus more on yourself, on what you want to do and not on what people say about you," Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast. "Don't listen to all those opinions and just do your best.

"At some point he will crash into Max, but he just has to get the confidence to do that. He shouldn’t always be influenced by things that he has no control over. People can say whatever they want.

"Lando knows he’s a good driver, he knows what he has to do," Steiner continued. "He’s just a bit shy, he doesn’t want to do anything negative. He has to say, 'This is how I want to race, and this is the way I think is right. If he hits me and we crash, then so be it'."

Verstappen providing Norris more problems

Norris has adopted a rather negative attitude during race weekends recently, after a number of mistakes have seen him surrender his early championship lead.

A qualifying crash in Saudi Arabia saw Norris fall out of race-winning contention, while his tangle with Verstappen at the first corner in Miami cost him dear.

On top of this, however, Norris also struggled to get past Verstappen later in the race, tangling with the Dutchman for several laps, allowing Piastri to pull out a huge lead out front.

With the championship on the line, Norris wants to just be battling with his team-mate for race wins, but once again his old nemesis Verstappen seems to be getting in the way of these ambitions, despite the Dutchman not looking to be in the championship fight himself at this early stage.

F1 HEADLINES: Team to axe driver before next race as Norris sends Verstappen warning

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