Jenson Button expects to see ‘a different Lando Norris’ after Max Verstappen fight

2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button expects to see a “slightly different” Lando Norris in 2025 after getting a taste of a tight fight with Max Verstappen.

Norris was Verstappen’s nearest challenger for much of the campaign, with the McLaren driver in contention to take his first F1 drivers’ world championship.

The decisive moment came in Brazil as Verstappen won from 17th on the grid whereas Norris finished sixth despite starting the race from pole position.

McLaren have enjoyed a performance edge on Red Bull since the summer, but Norris has struggled to reduce the gap to Verstappen at the top of the standings.

Assessing Norris’ season, Button told the Sky Sports F1 podcast: “He’s shown his skill and his speed. He’s got to be proud of what he’s achieved. It was a slim chance but he was fighting for a world championship in F1. It’s an awesome position to find yourself in.

“A lot of it is down to his talent but also proves how good the team has been and how they’ve improved over the last few years. I obviously remember McLaren back in 2016 when I left the sport and it was a little bit different to where they are right now. Proud of the team as well.”

Button feels Norris will learn a lot from his various on-track duels with Verstappen, particularly in the United States and Mexico.

“I think going up against Max - he’s a different animal to anyone else on the grid to go up against,” Button added. “He knows his goals in a race. Whether that’s to win or just to beat you as his championship rival and he just aims at you. He forgets what else is going on around him and his aim is to beat you. We saw that on many occasions, especially in Austin and Mexico.

“When someone is that dedicated to just beating you that’s tough. He would have learned a lot and I am really excited to see a slightly different Lando next year.

“He will be studying every bit of footage that he has from this season of racing against Max. He will come out much stronger next year and we will see a different Lando I think. It’s all learning. Until you’ve gone up against Max, you don’t know how you’re going to react.”

Norris will be hoping to help McLaren wrap up their first F1 constructors’ championship since 1998 at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.