Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen “compete on equal terms” prediction made

Lando Norris’ “incredible ability” will allow him to battle Max Verstappen evenly when on equal terms, Anthony Davidson believes.

A rare off-day for Red Bull’s Verstappen last weekend at the F1 Miami Grand Prix opened the door for McLaren’s Norris to swoop in and claim his first victory.

Norris’ glory was the result of McLaren’s gradual improvement and there might be more to come, Davidson says.

Craig Slater posed the question: “In terms of ability and being able to be in the fight, is [Norris] able to compete on equal terms with them?”

Davidson answered: “Yes. In one word, yes.

“He’s got incredible ability. He’s great in the rain, brilliant at reading the grand prix, he kept the team calm under the Safety Car conditions.

“He didn’t want to pit immediately. He knew it would be a long yellow flag period. They waited a lap to bring him in, to ensure he’d come out with a healthy lead.

“They didn’t bring him in too early on his orders in many ways. He said: ‘The car feels good, I’m happy here, we’re on the right tyre and the right time, I can go longer to offset ourselves against Red Bull and Verstappen’.”

McLaren dealt warning about Red Bull for Imola

McLaren brought a raft of upgrades to Miami which powered them onto their grand prix win.

“I saw - the upgrades that McLaren brought, the upgrades that Mercedes brought - everyone is honing in on where they need to be to catch Red Bull,” Davidson said.

“Red Bull brought their upgrades early on, at China.

“So, at this race, it levelled out again. In terms of the upgrades between McLaren and Red Bull.

“And this was a serious upgrade for McLaren! They had rear wings, floor, front wing, you name it!

“They have developed the car brilliantly well. It does exactly what they want it to do from a wind tunnel point of view.

“It correlates beautifully to what they see back at base. And that’s the key to bridging the gap to Red Bull.

“I don’t want to get carried away. This is just a snapshot. I want to see different circuits which test the cars.”

F1 heads to Imola next weekend where Mercedes are expected to introduce new parts again.

All eyes will be on Norris and McLaren, however, to see if they can maintain their race-winning form.

“There is a high chance, in the next race, that the Red Bull might come back strong,” Davidson warned.

“A bit like when he came to Suzuka and said ‘this is where I’m at’ after a disappointing race at Melbourne.”