Norris admits he “couldn’t make it count” in rare Verstappen battle

Norris made a storming start from sixth on the grid, quickly moving up to second after a chaotic opening lap.

Soon after the race resumed following the red flag stoppage, Norris was able to pressure Verstappen for the race lead.

The McLaren driver looked to pass Verstappen into Turn 1 and then on the subsequent DRS straight but couldn't get through.

It was ultimately Norris’ only chance to pass the Red Bull driver as he dropped to over two seconds behind in the subsequent laps.

Reflecting on the battle with Verstappen, he said: “I got a very good start, the opposite of yesterday. That saved me. I don’t know what happened to Charles, I saw he had an issue. It would have good to race everyone, but at the same time the less people I can race, the better!

“To start well and get into P2, I was like: ‘Ooh! We can have a tasty one here, with Max!’ I tried. It was my first opportunity. I had one, and couldn’t make it count.

“We’re positive to be up there, fighting in these positions. A big gap to everyone behind us. It feels good in the car. It’s a bit lonely, a race like this! You are still smiling the whole way, still pushing.”

It was Norris’ sixth second-place of F1 2023 as he moved ahead of Carlos Sainz in the championship.

Norris conceded McLaren’s impressive pace is surprising the whole team given that they expected to struggle in Mexico and Brazil.

“I’m very happy with the whole weekend,” he added. “The pace has been very strong. Again coming into a race weekend, we weren’t expecting to be performing at this level. It’s a very good surprise for all of us.

“Here and Mexico, we said these are the two tracks where we will struggle. We’ve come out of them a lot better than expected. It’s a big positive for the whole team and for myself to know this.

“It doesn’t seem like there are any bad tracks for us, at the moment. Vegas is always unknown for everyone. It was close to a perfect weekend - not quite but as close as it gets.”