'I've not been at level of world champion' - Norris

Lando Norris says he has "not performed astatine nan level of a world champion" truthful acold this play - but still believes he tin situation Max Verstappen for nan title.

The McLaren driver is 78 points down Red Bull’s Verstappen pinch 10 races to spell arsenic nan play resumes astatine this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, pursuing nan summertime break.

Norris said: "I’m still very happy pinch really nan season’s gone, but conscionable 1 excessively galore mistakes and a fewer excessively galore points fixed away.

"Which is not nan level I request to beryllium astatine if I want to conflict for a title and conflict against a driver for illustration Max."

Norris and McLaren caput into nan 2nd portion of nan play pinch a realistic chance of overhauling Red Bull’s 42-point lead successful nan constructors’ championship, but pinch some Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri motivated to do everything they tin to drawback Verstappen successful nan drivers’ chase.

"For nan team, of people [we tin do it]," Norris said. "As a driver, it is still wrong scope but it is simply a batch of points and it’s against Max.

"I want to beryllium optimistic and opportunity location are still chances. I cognize it’s a batch and it’s going to beryllium a very difficult situation but, pinch really I cognize I tin execute erstwhile things click, I still want to judge it’s possible."

But Norris said a bid of mini errors - peculiarly astatine nan starts and first laps of races - had fto him down.

"In nan first half of nan season, I person not performed astatine nan level of a world champion," he said. "Simple arsenic that.

"At times I have. Many races I have. But small things person fto maine down on nan measurement and those are things I can’t afford. In nan past fewer races I person not been astatine nan level I request to beryllium at."

Norris’ hopes are boosted astatine Zandvoort this play by an upgrade connected nan McLaren car - their first capacity improvement since nan 1 introduced successful Miami successful May, which transformed them into frontrunners.

"We person immoderate things connected nan car this weekend," Norris said. "We’ve not really had an upgrade since Miami. And a batch of different teams person done.

"So it’s astir time, but successful a bully sense, we person taken our clip to effort to understand things well. We person seen different teams put things connected nan car and they’ve not worked, and we wanted to debar that."

Piastri, who is 32 points down Norris successful nan championship, says he had been driving pinch a surgery rib for nan 3 races starring up to nan summertime break successful Britain, Hungary and Belgium.

He revealed nan wounded connected Instagram this week, but until Thursday had not said erstwhile it happened aliases really it had affected him.

He said it had been caused by his title spot not being a cleanable fit, and that nan problem began to look astatine nan Spanish Grand Prix 5 races ago.

"You make nan spot astatine nan the commencement of nan twelvemonth and sometimes you get it a spot incorrect and immoderate tracks don’t expose it," Piastri said.

"But going to Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, they are 3 beautiful hardcore tracks, truthful a spot of a unit point, and yet my rib collapsed up. It’s each bully now."

He said he had discovered nan grade of nan wounded aft nan British Grand Prix.

"The scan was nan time aft Silverstone but it was decidedly surgery earlier Silverstone," nan Australian said.

"Definitely it was immoderate constituent astir Austria. I deliberation it was astir apt a spot disturbed successful Barcelona and past aft Austria it was beautiful painful, and past Silverstone was a beautiful nasty fewer days.

"But we made immoderate changes and it was already getting amended successful Hungary and Belgium, truthful it’s each backmost to normal now."

Verstappen starts his 200th expansive prix this weekend, and has said he is "beyond halfway" successful his career.

The Dutchman is contracted to Red Bull until nan extremity of 2028 - though location is simply a anticipation he could move to Mercedes from 2026, erstwhile caller regulations travel into unit connected some car and engine.

On his future, he said: "In my mind astatine nan infinitesimal I americium not reasoning astir a caller contract.

"I want to spot really it goes and spot nan caller regulations, if it’s nosy aliases not. And successful 2026 and 2027 location is simply a batch of clip to determine what happens. I support everything unfastened but I americium rather relaxed astir it."

Verstappen has won each 3 editions of nan Dutch Grand Prix since it returned to nan almanac successful 2021, but said he expected this year’s to beryllium his toughest yet fixed nan competitiveness of nan section astatine nan infinitesimal - and nan truth he has not won since May.

"Looking astatine really nan play is astatine nan moment, for judge [will beryllium toughest title here]," he said.

"I americium not coming into this play saying we are going to triumph nan race. Of people we analysed complete nan break really to do things different aliases better, and we will find retired really that will go."