Lando Norris ‘split’ on Max Verstappen relationship after key question posed
Max Verstappen is set to hold off the threat of Lando Norris to seal the F1 2024 title
Lando Norris is still deciding whether he can keep his friend Max Verstappen and the racing rival Max Verstappen as separate entities.
The early stages of F1 2024 suggested that Verstappen would cruise to a fourth consecutive World Championship, but McLaren and Norris rose up to threaten a title challenge against the Dutchman, who suffered a 10-race run without a victory.
Lando Norris still respects Max Verstappen ‘for now’
During that winless spell for Verstappen, the relationship between Verstappen and Norris – who regard themselves as friends off track – was tested on various occasions, thanks to situations like their Austria collision while battling for the lead and their squabbles in Austin and Mexico.
Verstappen snapped said winless streak in emphatic fashion at the Brazilian GP, winning from P17 on the grid as he all but ended Norris’ F1 2024 title hopes, and ahead of that race, while speaking to F1 TV, Norris was asked if on-track proceedings are impacting his relationship with Verstappen. Can he separate the person outside the car from the driver in it?
“I don’t know, I’m split,” Norris responded.
“In some ways, you kind of think how someone can be personally and how you can get along with people, can be so different to how you are on track.
“It’s such a different world there on the track to here doing this [in the paddock]. It’s my first time being in this situation, and time will tell how that changes. But for now I still respect Max, I think he respects me, but maybe ask me again at the end of the year!”
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Ahead of the Brazilian GP, Norris said he and Verstappen had “not spoken” about their recent on-track dramas.
“I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say,” he continued.
“I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does – not respect for what he did last weekend [in Mexico] – but respect for him as a person and also what he’s achieved.
“But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher. I’m not his mentor or anything like that.
“Max knows what he has to do. He knows that he did wrong. Deep down, he does, and it’s for him to change.”
Verstappen leads the F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship by 62 points over Norris with three rounds of the season left to go.
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