Max Verstappen, not a “real friend” for Lando Norris?

Red Bull has always been much more than a stable of F1, so much so that it can sometimes offer incongruous situations, like the one seen in recent days with Lando Norris. In Brazil two weeks ago, the Englishman almost lost all chances of being crowned F1 world champion in 2024 against Max Verstappen, driver… Red Bull. And the Briton opened up about it in the… Red Bulletin, the lifestyle magazine of the Austrian brand.

Presented as friends for several years thanks in particular to their joint participation in sim-racing events, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have seen their friendship particularly put to the test since the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix where the Dutchman sometimes pulled out his elbows, before showing himself to be very aggressive again in attack as in defense in Austin and. in Mexico. The triple reigning world champion, on the Silverstone side, had even slipped to the press that the only thing that mattered to him was to maintain his friendly relationship with Lando.

Norris-Verstappen, friends for life?

The latter, however, assured the Red Bull publication that their friendship was not as strong as people imagine. “Everyone thinks we are better friends than we are.”, Norris told the Red Bulletin. “I have other people who are my real friends. My real friends. He’s a guy I get along with off the track. That doesn’t change. I know how to separate things. If someone treats me like shit on the track, it doesn’t mean I’m going to treat them like shit off the track. They’re two different worlds.” 

The pilot McLaren took the opportunity to talk about his evolution and what he learned this season while fighting for the title against Max Verstappen. "I think I'll always find it strange. It might take a few years to get used to it, but I still feel like it wasn't so long ago that I was watching all this on TV, Fernando [Alonso], Lewis [Hamilton], Jenson [Button], all those guys. And now I'm in this position, so I still find it weird, but extremely cool at the same time. And 100%, fighting for a championship brings and requires a lot more focus." At least he's been warned for next year!

ALSO READ > Andretti opens around thirty positions, with a view to an arrival in F1?