Damon Hill urges Lando Norris to ditch “nice guy” approach in Max Verstappen battles

1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill has called on Lando Norris to be more “clinical” following his latest battle with Max Verstappen at the Miami Grand Prix.

Norris spent several laps stuck behind Verstappen as the pair battled for second place.

Like teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris spent six laps behind Verstappen before passing him, but he lost considerably more time.

By the time Piastri and Norris cleared Verstappen, there were nine seconds between the pair.

While Norris reduced Piastri’s lead to four seconds by the end of the race, it wasn’t enough to stop the Australian from taking his third consecutive victory.

For Norris, he was left to rue an incident with Verstappen on the opening lap, which dropped him back down to sixth.

Norris was able to slice through the field but got stuck behind Verstappen.

Norris tried to be aggressive on multiple occasions but misjudged his braking into Turn 11 at one point and had to return the place to Verstappen.

Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag F1 podcast, Hill advised Norris to drop the “nice guy” approach.

“I think you’re right, I think there is something, there’s a penny that needs to drop,” Hill said.

“I get the sense with him that when you think back to Austria was it last year? When he was fighting with Max.

“He kind of put himself in vulnerable positions and he came off worse. He makes comments like ‘I still want to win, I still want to be a nice guy.’ Well, it’s not about being nice, it’s about being effective.

“It’s about being clinical in how you deal with someone like Max. He’s not going to give it to you. Now he’s got Oscar as well and Oscar is being a little bit more… His racecraft seems to be a little bit more effective against someone like Max.”

F1 title battle hots up between Piastri and Norris

After six rounds, there are just 16 points between Piastri and Norris at the top of the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings.

McLaren’s dominance on Sunday was reminiscent of Mercedes’ advantage over the rest of the field between 2014 and 2016.

The McLaren duo sometimes were over one second faster than their nearest challengers.

By the end of the race, George Russell, who finished third, was over 30 seconds behind Norris.

On current form, it’s almost certain that one of the McLaren drivers will win their maiden F1 world championship this year.

Norris has admitted he’s struggled with the handling of the MCL39, especially in qualifying.

However, in Saudi Arabia and Miami, Norris has made progress and looks to be more confident behind the wheel of this year's McLaren.

Their rivalry will likely only grow as the season progresses, particularly if Verstappen and Russell are unable to remain in F1 title contention.