McLaren’s Norris eyes best chance to beat Red Bulls

SUZUKA: McLaren’s Lando Norris said he will have his best chance in recent memory of beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez when he lines up just behind the pair for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Norris, who finished third in Saturday’s qualifying, less than three tenths of a second behind pace-setting world champion Verstappen, was asked whether he could pip the team who have dominated Formula One in recent seasons.

“I’d say yes,” Norris told reporters after Saturday’s qualifying. “It’s so tricky, Sergio (Perez) is doing a good job. So there’s one much harder car to kind of keep up with,” he added.

Norris finished a distant second behind Verstappen at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit last season, with his team mate Oscar Piastri in third.

“We proved last year, when we were further away from them, that we could keep in touch and not be miles behind. So that’ll be our target for tomorrow,” he said.