“The lion might be afraid of the lamb now” – if this does not make sense to you now, go back to the Hungarian GP. There can only be one word to describe Max Verstappen’s radio chats in Budapest: incendiary. The Dutch lion left only a few words to the imagination as he ranted on the team radio when things went sideways for him in Hungary. Seeing himself losing control over his RB-20, Max almost bit his race engineer’s head off. Meanwhile, Gianpiero Lambiase did not keep quiet in the face of Max’s tirade–he called the reigning World Champion “childish”.

We can all agree to the fact that Max Verstappen seemed agitated at the Hungarian GP. Now, let’s remember who were the drivers ahead of him in the race. It was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Now, the latter holds the second position in the World Championship standings with 189 points. That’s a solid 76-point gap to Max Verstappen who is currently leading the table. However, after losing to Lando in Hungary, the Dutchman believes he might face the same fate at many other Grands Prix in the upcoming days.

F1 journalist Will Buxton often brushes shoulders with the racers during the Grand Prix weekends. Leasing up to the Belgian GP, he sat down for a chat with Max Verstappen. Summarizing the interaction on his X handle, Buxton wrote, “Just finished a fascinating chat with Max Verstappen you’ll be able to see on F1TV’s Belgian GP pre-race show. Perhaps most telling is that despite the doubts some might have, Max himself is adamant Lando can win the world championship. Sees the threat as very, very real.”

While Verstappen might fear for the worst, Lando Norris has only 1 race win this year against the Red Bull racer’s 7. And let’s not forget McLaren’s blunders like the one they did in Hungary by telling Norris to pit before Piastri even though the Australian was leading the race. So, a Championship win looks quite unlikely for the Belgian-British talent despite how fast his MCL38 might seem. Does this mean Lando Norris will back away from the title fight just because the odds are against him?

Lando Norris gives bold warning to Championship rival Max Verstappen

There is no denying that McLarens have taken every F1 fan by surprise lately. The papaya army has developed a car that can rival (and win against) Red Bull’s RB20! So, this has favored Norris’ climb to the second-best spot in the World Championship. From here, Lando only has eyes for Max Verstappen’s place at #1 on the Drivers’ Standings.

Speaking on whether he is prepared to fight the Dutchman, Lando said, “I know it’s a big stretch. But I’m not going to say no to the challenge and definitely, as a team, we won’t. Psychologically I’m happy, I’m excited. I’m ready to battle and looking forward to the battles that we’re going to have.” While Norris did put his team’s interests before his own at the Hungarian GP last weekend, he proved how competent he can be against Max Verstappen. In the upcoming Belgian GP, he will get yet another chance to prove himself as a worthy opponent to the three-time F1 title holder.

Lando Norris might be on for the Championship, but several pundits believe he is too far from Max Verstappen to do any real damage. On the other hand, the Red Bull pro takes Norris’ threat quite seriously, as per Martin Brundle’s tweet. So, tell us what you think about this fight between the young prodigies in the comments below. And also, don’t forget to share whom you are supporting in this challenge!