- Norris praises Verstappen as an essential rival despite their competitive history.
- Verstappen prioritizes fifth championship title over Le Mans despite struggles.
- F1 paddock reacts to retirement rumours surrounding the 4-time world champion.
While Max Verstappen, as a rival, may have made Lando Norris’ life incredibly tough on track occasionally, he holds utmost respect for the Dutchman and believes that it would be a great loss to the sport if he quits.
He spoke about how Verstappen has always been an honest and straightforward person who speaks his mind, and it’s nothing new, claiming that’s a good way to live life.
Reflecting on Verstappen’s success in F1, he believes he has earned the right to decide in his best interest. However, he did admit that not having Max Verstappen on the grid would be a “shame” for the sport and said he is fun to race against – even though his competitive drive and his hunger for wins sometimes make drivers around him sweat.
While the start of this season has been terrible for the duo, especially for Verstappen, the duo were cutthroat competitors for the championship last year. In the end, Verstappen lost his fifth title by just two points to Norris, who clinched his first.
Norris thinks Verstappen’s retirement could be a “miss for the sport”
In a recent conversation, Norris appreciated Verstappen’s quality of being unapologetically himself and believes that’s a good way to live. He described him as one of the best drivers on the grid and claimed that losing him would not be good for the sport.
Further showering praises upon him, “I think it would be a shame for us [the drivers] — I think as much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, he’s always good fun to race against, and it’s always cool to race against someone that’s won four championships. You always feel like you want to race against the best in the world, and he certainly is one of them.”
However, he believes that Verstappen will not leave F1 as he recently learned that he’s currently aiming for his fifth title. So, he does think that Verstappen might extend his stay.
The chase for the fifth title continues
Since the beginning of the season, Verstappen have struggled immensely, and he had been vocal about the new rules and regs, calling it “anti-racing” and “Mario Kart.” Moreover, he also admitted that he had no problem accepting the place in the current standings, being well aware that one can’t be dominant every season.
While Red Bull is committed to making things better for Verstappen after the season break, concerns have continued to emerge around his future in F1, as he often says that he might quit and that he’s not enjoying the sport. Amid this hiatus, however, there have been some positive updates about his future, despite GP’s departure adding further fuel to retirement speculation.
Recently, he was put on a pedestal to reveal whether his aim is currently to win a 5th title or a Le Mans series. His answer was obvious: a 5th F1 championship. Further elaborating, he said, “No, I would always choose the fifth world title. When I’m older, I can still do the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That fifth world title becomes more difficult.” Being realistic, he noted that this year, it might not be possible to achieve that goal.
