EXCLUSIVE: Lando Norris needs to dominate last three races insists former F1 driver Herbert
Speaking to Flashscore, F1 legend Johnny Herbert has urged Norris to dominate the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix and last two races of the season to boost his chances of a World Drivers' Championship in 2025.
Heading into the third-last grand prix of the year, Norris trails Verstappen by 62 points. There are still 86 points up for grabs, meaning that the British driver needs to outscore the Dutchman by at least three points in the Sin City to take it to Qatar a week later.
For Herbert, he believes Norris' faint hope of a first title is pinned on dominating the final stages of the season and that the Bristol-born racer should start looking ahead to next year's battle too.
He explained: “He (Norris) can only win, and Max cannot finish to ensure the title race goes on to Qatar.
“That won’t happen because Max has matured so much, he is not going to get himself into trouble. He only has to finish second or third and that’s more than enough and keep himself out of trouble. That’s quite a simple thing to do for someone like Max.
“But it’s down to Lando to win and fingers crossed that Max has a problem. Lando just needs to continue to learn and dominate these last three races to carry through to 2025.”
Las Vegas hosted its first grand prix since 1982 last year, with the street circuit that races on the iconic strip coming under fire for low grip, timing of the event and creating problems for non-F1 fans.
Herbert believes the circuit itself is perfect for F1 cars, whilst work needs to be done to create a better spectacle.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “It is tricky because the grip level was not high last year. It should be higher this year. That lack of grip might bring in the likes of Ferrari into the mix and Mercedes maybe, that is where things might change slightly for Max because he’ll want fewer people to be competitive.”
He added: “Logistically teams find it difficult. Last year it ran into the early hours because of the opening ceremony which went on and Max was not happy. He called it a 99% show and 1% sporting event. It should finish around midnight.
“As a track, the strip works perfectly for F1. The concentration levels have to be very high because it is very easy to have contact with another driver which could end up with a penalty of being out of the race.”