McLaren driver Lando Norris previously joked about his relationship with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and claimed that he hated the latter during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend last year. The duo was involved in an intense title battle in the 2024 season, which saw the British team, along with its two drivers, regularly compete against the Dutch driver and stop the Austrian team’s dominance in the current generation of regulations.
The British driver was a challenger for race victories for two-thirds of the season and even held an advantage over the grid in terms of car performance. However, he was unable to mount a proper title challenge and made repeated mistakes during race weekends.
The close racing on the track did create some tense moments in Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’s friendship, such as their crash in Austria and wheel-to-wheel battles in Austin and Mexico.
Although Verstappen held a substantial points advantage over his friend, there were moments during the Brazilian GP qualifying where he lost his cool. But the Dutch driver was able to turn his fortunes around in the main race and won brilliantly to get a hold on the title.
In the post-race interviews in the media pen, Lando Norris graciously approached Max Verstappen on the victory. When a reporter from ViaPlay asked if the duo were now friends, the Dutchman replied:
“We were always friends,”
However, Norris made a funny quip on the situation and added:
“We fell out yesterday. I hated Max yesterday,”
Max Verstappen secured his fourth successive championship in Las Vegas a couple of weeks later, while Lando Norris capped off a breakthrough year with a win in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren driver Lando Norris stated that he was looking forward to having more on-track battles with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, as he commented on his dynamic with the latter in February.
Speaking in the pre-season testing press conference, the Brit reflected to the media:
“I think we both look forward to more of last year, more battles. I don’t think it’s just going to be us. But yeah, I know they’re going to be tough battles, and I’m sure some of them are not always going to end the way I want or hopefully Max wants, but we’re racing drivers.
“We get along. We’ve always said those kinds of things. I know everyone tries to make their own points and say what’s correct and what’s not correct, but we respect each other a lot and we look forward to more racing on track.”
Although McLaren has had an advantage over Red Bull this year, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have had close battles for race wins in races like Miami and Suzuka.
