FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 8, 2024 McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates on the podium after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) - McLaren's Lando Norris, already the British bookmakers' favourite for the 2025 Formula One title, was ready to take the fight to Max Verstappen after driving his new car for the first time on Thursday.
Runner-up last season to Red Bull's four times world champion, Norris told reporters at Silverstone he had already shown he could beat the Dutch driver and now planned to be smarter and sharper after last year's clashes.
"I need to get my elbows out and I need to show that I'm not going to willingly give him any positions. I also have to be a smart driver. You have to be a smart driver to go up against Max," said the Briton.
"He's quick, he's aggressive, he's one of the best ever. The easy way is just going out and being quicker than him and staying ahead. That's the obvious path.
"You just got to be smart. That's the answer to it all. You have to be smart and you have to position the car well and also think of the long game sometimes."
Verstappen, who has a new teammate in New Zealander Liam Lawson, is clear number one at Red Bull while constructors' champions McLaren have two drivers on equal status and both hungry to win.
Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri was equally clear about his intentions.
"I want to win the world championship this year," said the 23-year-old Australian, who will be starting the season in front of his home Melbourne crowd next month with a potentially winning car.
"We are starting on a clean slate and I do think that I can become world champion this year.
"I feel like 12 months ago I was going into the season still with some weaknesses that I wasn't particularly confident with. I think through last season I addressed them."
Norris said he was excited but calm and relished the pressure. He hoped anybody who bet on him for the title made plenty of money.
"I know Oscar is hungry for a championship and every driver is and for sure he's capable of winning a championship," he added.
"Everyone knows that we want to beat each other and you want to be the top dog in the team and that's normal, that's the expectation."
Team boss Andrea Stella said both drivers had what it takes and it was now up to the team to give them a competitive car right from the start.
"I really look forward to have this kind of challenge," he said of managing the rivalry.
"It means we are doing well as a team, it means that the two drivers are doing well as drivers, and it means that the car is actually competitive and we did a good job from a technical and racing point of view."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
