Former McLaren driver Martin Brundle believes Lando Norris did not have the “killer instinct” needed to fight for this year’s world championship, Afrosport reports.
The timing of the Virtual Safety Car and red flag at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix cost Norris dearly with two further mistakes later on pushing him down to sixth.
Max Verstappen’s victory in Brazil means he could retain his crown for a fourth straight year if he finishes ahead of Norris at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in three weeks
Reacting to how Norris’ title challenge has gone, Brundle stated: “It’s [about improving] everything at the level he’s at. He’s had some amazing victories and not least in Zandvoort and Singapore where he just ran off and hid, a little bit like Max.
“But he lacks the experience of challenging for a world championship and I think that’s a whole new set of challenges and rules – and that’s what he will learn from this year.
“Sometimes you wonder if he lacks the killer instinct up against Max, who we know can be pretty brutal in combat.
“But I think Lando will learn a lot from this season, and Max winning seven of the first 10 races pretty much put him out of reach really.”
Brundle added: “If you add all that up together, Lando needed to take a chunk of points out of Max every single race and hope that there was his team-mate and a Ferrari or two, and even a Mercedes or two, between them.
“But one turnaround, like in Brazil, and that little escapade was over by and large unless a lot of bizarre things happen now in the final races.”
Norris’ McLaren team could however clinch the constructors’ championship for the first time in 26 years as they hold a 36 point lead over Ferrari and a 49 points over Red Bull.
