Lando Norris on Max Verstappen relationship as ‘we’ve not spoken’ reveal made

Lando Norris has said that he and Max Verstappen have not spoken about their recent on-track battles, as their title fight reaches its climax.

The Red Bull and McLaren driver are the main title rivals for the F1 2024 championship, which has pitted the two close friends against each other in an increasingly tense fight.

Lando Norris: It’s not on me to speak to Max Verstappen

Norris and Verstappen are well-known as close friends and frequently shared chartered flights on their way to Grands Prix, but that friendship has been put to the test by a terse title battle.

The first real test came in Austria when, following a collision between the pair that resulted in damage to both cars and a race retirement for Norris, the McLaren man called upon Verstappen to apologise.

An apology didn’t come, but Verstappen spoke at length of his desire to keep their friendship intact and, after tempers had cooled, Norris retracted his calls for an apology.

But while a more recent flashpoint hasn’t occurred, the differing competitive levels of their cars have resulted in Verstappen taking more extreme defensive tactics when being attacked by Norris – resulting in him pushing Norris off-track twice in Mexico and picking up two separate time penalties.

This came a week after Norris himself was given a penalty for overtaking Verstappen while off-track, with the Red Bull driver having closed the door on the McLaren’s attempt to pass around the outside of Turn 12.

After Mexico, Norris acknowledged that Verstappen is now driving solely to beat him and will “sacrifice” his own best result in order just to beat his title rival, resulting in a different approach to driving and racing against the British challenger.

Asked whether he and Verstappen have spoken about the recent events on-track, Norris said the duo have not and that he felt it wasn’t on him to argue his perspective with the reigning World Champion.

“No, we’ve not spoken,” he said on Thursday in Brazil.

“I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say.

“I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does – not respect for what he did last weekend – 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.”

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As for whether he feels his relationship with Verstappen has changed as a result of their title fight, he said: “Not that I know of. I’ve not spoken to Max, it’s not something I need to speak to Max about.

“Max is probably one of the most capable drivers on the grid, if not the most, and he knows what he can and can’t do and where the limits are. He knows the changes he has to make.”

Given the increasing ferocity of the driving between the pair when they meet on the track, with Verstappen taking it to a new level of aggression to try to stay ahead of the McLaren, Norris denied that he has felt the need to retaliate against Verstappen.

“No, I’m very chilled and I’m very relaxed when I’m on track,” he said.

“For me, that’s what I need to perform by being relaxed and not thinking about these things.

“There are two different sides – when you’re just driving, and driving quickly is one job,  staying out of trouble and not making contact and all of those things is another task on top of it.

“I think I’ve always done a good job of staying out of trouble, whether it’s Lap 1s or Turn 1s, any of these things, but also racing against your main competitors and rivals is a big challenge, and I always expect it to be tough.

“I don’t want it to be easy. I never expect it to be easy, but my job is to make sure I see the finish line every time, and that’s what I have to do.”

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