Lando Norris reveals brutal toll Max Verstappen’s title-defining Brazil win took on him

Max Verstappen’s victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix from 17th on the grid left the Red Bull racer on the cusp of a fourth F1 title and challenger Lando Norris floored

Lando Norris said he could not sleep for two days and had “a pretty s****y week” after Max Verstappen all-but ended his title hopes.

The Dutchman won the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this month from 17th on the grid, while pole-sitter Norris dropped to sixth. That result leaves the Brit 62 points adrift of Verstappen and the Red Bull racer can seal the title by finishing ahead of his McLaren challenger in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Knowing that, Norris said he struggled in the days after that fateful result in Sao Paulo. He said: “I was pretty down for a week after Brazil because there was the realisation that things are out of my control and not within reach and that was a tough moment.

“When your hopes and beliefs are so high, and then for them to get knocked down, that was pretty demoralising and not the best of feelings but you learn to accept that is life. So it was a pretty s****y week, with probably zero recovery done. I literally could not sleep for the first two days. I did 36-40 hours straight.”

Title glory is still mathematically possible but Norris, 25, needs “a lot of luck” to go his way. “I have to win three races, and hope Max fails to finish in those three races,” he said.

And he admitted: “I probably was not outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max. I think I am now, but it is probably too late. No-one has gone up against Max so early on in their career and put up a reasonable fight. I am there but nobody else is doing it.

“This was my first opportunity to see where I stand. I was not at the level where I needed to be at the beginning of the year but since the summer break I have done a very good job and I have performed very well.”

Verstappen may have virtually sealed his fourth drivers’ crown but Red Bull still have a lot to work to do in the teams’ championship. They trail Norris’ McLaren team by 49 points while Ferrari are also narrowly ahead.

And the Dutchman hopes to complete his personal mission at the first opportunity so he can focus fully on helping his team to retain the title. He said: “It is looking good in the championship but we still need to score a lot of points so we will just focus on that.

“Once we are doing that then you get closer to the end result. Of course, the target is to win the championship. Going off the last races we were definitely not the quickest car so we will see what we can do here. This track seems to suit [Ferrari’s] car but I hope that we can be in that fight this weekend to try to win again.”