A friendship between two F1 drivers is possible. But also between two drivers fighting for the F1 World Championship? This is more questionable. In the past, this would have been a utopia. Now, in the modern era of F1, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen They want to show that the fight on the track will not affect their friendship on the course. But what happened in Austin and Mexico may be the last straw. Max’s aggressive defense in both races means that the relationship between the two can be very different.
“We haven’t talked yet and I don’t think we have to, I have nothing to say. I still have a lot of respect for Max (Verstappen) and everything he does, I have no respect for what he did last weekend (in Mexico)but respecting him as a person, and what he’s achieved, but it’s not my place to talk to him, I’m not his teacher, or his mentor, or anything like that, Max knows if what should he do, he knows what he did is wrong, deep down he knows, and he should change, not me.
These are the words of Lando Norris in the run-up to the Brazilian F1 GP, statements that are completely different after the crash they both experienced a few months ago in Austria.
His speech was very different from what he said a few days after Austria
After his accident on the Spielberg circuit, Max made that clear “The only thing that matters to me is our relationship with Lando”. They talk about it after the race, it’s cold, and Max downplays Norris’ heated reaction after the crash.
“I didn’t even expect the result to be fair, but I did expect more respect. Our friendship? If he doesn’t admit his mistake, he will lose a lot of respect. If he says unfair, we will. continue to be friends ,” Norris said minutes after contacting Max in Austria. But then it all came to nothing and even Lando himself said the following Thursday, in the run-up to the British GP, that “I don’t think Verstappen needs to apologise.” “It was a quite pathetic incident. We have talked about it and we are both happy to be racing again,” said the Briton, who was soft on his statements to his rival for the World Cup. But things may have changed.
Months later, after so many missed opportunities on Lando’s part, and most of all, after Verstappen closed the door on him by taking the current limit rule in Austin, and exceeding any limit in Mexico on up to two occasions, Judging by Lando’s statements, Lando has a different attitude towards Verstappen. They have been playing video games, paddle tennis for a long time, sometimes they share a private jet back to Monaco and they always get along. But they never competed for the same goal, the greatest of all, to be world champion. And they haven’t experienced so many face-to-face fights. And that changes everything.
“Verstappen knows what changes he needs to make”
“Max is probably one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, if not the most. He knows what he can and can’t do and where the limits are, so he knows the changes he needs to make,” Norris did it again Thursday in Brazil, with a very clear speech to his opponent.
However, Norris did not show his claws, he did not threaten his opponent as happened in the incredible battle between Hamilton and Verstappen in 2021. Lando made it clear that he will continue to compete in the same way in the last races of the year.
“I’ve always had the mentality of wanting to compete clean. I think maybe I said that last weekend, maybe I was too nice, both attacking and defending, but I think I’ve always made good decisions on that side. Sometimes I paid the price for not being aggressive enough, but others I didn’t have. Even if you don’t realize it, there are times when you have to avoid a possible collision and you may not see it on television. There are more times when people notice that you’ve been through certain situations, and I think that’s some of the challenges that we have from time to time, “But I’m going into this weekend with a new expectation to have a clean and fair race, and I think that’s what we should expect.”then Lando.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
