As Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he revealed he once “guest” Lando Norris to be his teammate at Red Bull.
Verstappen and Norris have often been in a duel this year on track, and it has rarely ended well. Off-track passages and even collisions like in Austria, this season was a testing period for the two friends.
For the four-time world champion, Norris experienced “an excellent season” despite failing to win the title, and revealed that in the past he had offered the Briton the chance to partner with him at Red Bull.
“I obviously spent a lot of time with Lando before. When I was already winning and he wasn't, I always told him, 'Your time will come. Stick to the process. I think you're in a good team environment.' .”
“I also happily invited him to be my teammate at the time, I told him: 'if you want to win, you can also come here [chez Red Bull].' I know he had discussions with the team, twice I think, but he remained loyal to McLaren.
“I also welcome that. And of course, I'm happy for him because his gamble is starting to pay off.”
“He had a great season, maybe everything didn't go the way he wanted this year, but that's part of the path you take. You make mistakes, you learn from them. He's is about knowing how to bounce back.”
“We're friends now, we're not best friends, it's not like I call him on a daily basis. We both have our best friends, that's how you grow up, isn't it? – right? But we are friends. I have a lot of respect for him.”
