Hamilton and Verstappen have "more to lose" in combat - Norris

Lando Norris has revealed to using the F1 title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to his advantage as the duo have "more to lose".

On the opening lap of the recent Italian Grand Prix, Norris went wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton en route to finishing second at Monza as McLaren scored its first one-two for 12 years, with Daniel Ricciardo claiming the team's first victory since 2012.

The race was ultimately overshadowed by the latest collision between Mercedes driver Hamilton and Red Bull rival Verstappen.

Asked if he took into account when fighting with Hamilton and Verstappen that they had more to lose given their championship battle, Norris replied: “Yes, yes I do.

"At the start of the last race I got quite tight with Lewis in turn one and turn two and we weren’t far off having a bit of contact.

"It’s not like he’s driving on a very conservative state but there are definitely points where you know what he is fighting for and then that comes into play that he has more to lose than you do.

“So the answer is yes.”

Norris is currently fourth in the drivers' standings, 28 points ahead of sixth-placed Charles Leclerc who, when faced with the same question, offered a similar response.

“Probably in the back of my head I do," he said. "I know that if you take a bit more risk, they have got a bit more to lose considering the fight they are in.

“But I don’t get to fight them so often this year so I didn’t ask that question very much this year.”

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