McLaren boss Zak Brown has urged Lando Norris to show Max Verstappen "the limits" but still keep it clean on the track.
Having dominated Formula 1 in 2022 and again in 2023 when he claimed a record-breaking 19 wins including a 10-race winning streak, this season Verstappen has been made to work for his World title.
And make no mistake, barring an implosion never seen before in the standings, it is his World title as he goes into the final triple-header with a 62-point lead over Norris.
He can wrap up the title in Las Vegas this Saturday, all he needs to do is outscore Norris by three points.
However, the Briton and McLaren are determined to continue fighting until the bitter end, and bitter is what it has become in the last month or so.
Although Norris and Verstappen spent much of this season travelling to races together and even celebrating post-race, niggles began to appear at the Red Bull Ring when they went wheel-to-wheel, both complaining about the other's actions. That ended in contact as Verstappen shut the door on Norris with both drivers suffering punctures.
But while they were quick to sort that out with a Monday phone call, the good friends have not – at least Norris said in Brazil – spoken in the wake of their Austin and Mexican antics.
In those back-to-back races, Norris was penalised in Austin for passing Verstappen off the track and gaining an advantage although the stewards reduced his penalty to five seconds as he was off of the track because Verstappen pushed him there, while in Mexico it was the Red Bull driver who was penalised.
He was given two 10-second penalties, the first for forcing Norris off the track and three corners later a second penalty was given for passing the McLaren driver while off the track. In that action, Verstappen pushed Norris towards the wall surrounding the run-off with the McLaren driver decrying that as "dangerous"
However, going on to win the Brazilian Grand Prix with arguably one of the best wet weather drives seen in Formula 1 while two mistakes cost Norris positions, Verstappen is on the cusp of a fourth World title.
It has some pundits such as former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan claiming Norris "hasn't got" what it takes yet to be a "great World Champion".
But if you ask his McLaren boss Brown, Norris has a line that he won't cross unless he's pushed to the Lewis Hamilton's "enough is enough" as the Mercedes driver was in his title fight with Verstappen in 2021. And that's not something Brown wants to see.
"The world has changed. More transparent. Today, admitting weaknesses is a strength. We all have them," Brown told Auto Motor und Sport.
"Perhaps Lando is sometimes too open-hearted, and he would be better advised to hold back certain things. But I don't think that turns into a weakness on the race track.
"Lando drove brilliantly in Austin. The only thing he could have done differently would have been to drive into Max's car. But that's not our style, and not Lando's either.
"After all, it has triggered a big discussion about the rules of the game. That's also necessary.
"Lando drives hard but fair. Max is an incredible racing driver who pushes the rules to the limit. But you have to show him where the limits are.
"If that's not done, there will be scenes like the one between Lewis and Max in 2021, when Lewis said to himself: 'enough is enough'.
"I don't think we want to go back to that."
