Norris concedes he 'paid the price' as he reflects on Lap 1 battle with Verstappen in Miami

Lando Norris believes he "paid the price" after going wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen during the Miami Grand Prix, and that it's "crash or don't pass unless you get it really right" when battling the reigning World Champion.

Norris lined up alongside polesitter Verstappen for the 57-lap race in Miami and was behind the Red Bull driver into the opening right corner as the Dutchman ran fractionally deep on a surface which was green and free of rubber after earlier heavy showers.

READ MORE: Piastri wins from Norris and Russell as McLaren seal commanding 1-2 in Miami Grand Prix

With better traction Norris was able pull alongside Verstappen into the following left bend but found himself edged towards the run-off area and over the kerb having never got ahead of his rival around the outside.

The loss of momentum meant Norris dropped back as far as sixth and he was forced to scythe his way back through the pack, with the incident noted by the stewards before no further action was taken.

"What can I say? If I don’t go for it, people complain," said Norris post-race about the opening lap incident. "If I go for it, people complain so you can’t win.

"It’s the way it is with Max, it’s crash or don’t pass unless you get it really right and you put him in the perfect position, then you can just about get there. I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today."

RACE START: Verstappen narrowly holds onto the lead in thrilling start to Miami GP

While McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri was able to eventually pass Verstappen for the lead at Turn 1 after the Red Bull driver ran deep again, Norris had his own problems trying to move into second.

He tried to go around the outside at Turn 1 on Lap 15 but again was forced off the track before eventually moving ahead at Turn 11 several laps later but having pushed both himself and Verstappen off the track in the process.

Conceding the position so as not to incur a penalty, he repeated the move with greater success a lap later but was now nearly nine seconds behind leader Piastri.

Despite reducing that gap to just 4.6s and finishing more than 30s clear of third-place George Russell, Norris conceded further ground to Piastri in the standings with the gap now standing at 16 points after the Australian claimed his third win on the bounce.

"It’s never the best feeling but the team have done an amazing job so I can’t fault them at all – good pit stops, great pace," reflected Norris.

"We were up the road so it was a good feeling. Oscar drove well, Max put up a good fight as always and I paid the price but it’s the way it is."

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