Lando Norris insists Max Verstappen would not have won this year’s Formula 1 world championship if he was driving a McLaren. Norris saw his title hopes disintegrate at the last race in Brazil when Verstappen produced one of his best-ever drives to claim victory from 17th on the grid in wet conditions.

Max Verstappen will be Formula One world champion for the fourth year in a row if he beats Lando Norris in Las Vegas this weekend. McLaren’s Norris must score three points more than his Red Bull rival — requiring at least a top eight finish even if Verstappen draws a blank — to delay the inevitable for one more week and continue the title ‘battle’ to Qatar.