Lando Norris delivers damning McLaren admission in Max Verstappen fight

Lando Norris has highlighted a glaring disparity between McLaren and Red Bull at the British Grand Prix, something that will significantly advantage Max Verstappen. The 25-year-old pointed to the discrepancy in straight-line speed between the RB21 and the MCL39, suggesting that even with DRS, he and Oscar Piastri can only "just about" match their closest F1 drivers' championship rival on top speed. Verstappen starts from pole at Silverstone, with Norris in third behind his team-mate. It means the Red Bull driver will be difficult to pass at the high-speed circuit. Much of the delta is due to the four-time F1 drivers' champion running a low-downforce rear wing on his car. When asked in the FIA press conference after qualifying whether Verstappen's approach will help or hinder McLaren in the race, the Briton explained why it could be difficult to catch up and pass. "It's hard, honestly, to know until you get behind and you have the dirty air and DRS and things like that," Norris told media, including RacingNews365 . "To be honest, at the minute, our DRS speed probably just about matches Max's speed. "So, I think it'll be tough because we'll probably catch him in the high speed, but we just won't really close much when we open the DRS. "I think it can be tough, but there's also probably more opportunities than a normal race. Like they [Piastri and Verstappen] both said, between everyone, we're fast and slow in different places." Points of comparison To support his point, Norris compared Silverstone to the previous round, the Austrian Grand Prix, to emphasise just how quick the home of the British Grand Prix is. He also reiterated a prior observation made by Piastri. The Australian driver highlighted the Japanese Grand Prix, which Verstappen won from pole, able to keep the McLarens behind throughout.  "You look at Red Bull Ring and you say Red Bull Ring is high-speed, but comparing to Silverstone, it's quite medium-speed," Norris added. "Here is definitely high-speed, and it's probably highlighted a few more of our weaknesses. "We've performed very well in the slower and medium-speed tracks, some of the higher speed, we're not bad, but we always seem to lose out to Max and the Red Bull, like Oscar said, in Japan, here, things like that. "So, yeah, clearly things to work on. But I think we go into the race tomorrow, there's still plenty of opportunity for us."