A Max Verstappen-Lando Norris pairing at Red Bull is a disastrous idea

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as teammates. Sounds good right? Well, the idea has been floated by many in F1 recently from pundits to former team principals. Even Helmut Marko recently claimed that Norris would fit perfectly at Red Bull.

Verstappen has been running through his teammates ever since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018. Pierre Gasly lasted half a season, Alex Albon was out of the team in 18 months, and now it does appear that Sergio Perez is running out of favor as well with his consistently poor run in 2023.

It does appear that many drivers are auditioning for that second seat which will be vacated by the end of the 2024 F1 season. Amongst the names discussed, Lando Norris seems to be one that has been popping up quite a bit recently.

Interestingly, both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have been questioned on the prospects of teaming up in the future to which neither have said no. Both have welcomed the idea of teaming up together. There is one problem though.

IT IS A BAD IDEA! In this feature, we will take a look at why teaming up Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will prove disastrous.

Why the Max Verstappen-Lando Norris partnership will not work

Two elite drivers in the same doesn't work

Having two elite drivers with just one goal of winning the title in the same championship winning team does not work.

The two will be fighting with each other for the same piece of tarmac every race weekend. Every weekend one driver will try to get the better of the other and in a season where there is a race almost every weekend, this becomes tough to manage.

What's worse is that it gives birth to tensions and resentment between the two drivers and leads to friction.

Even if tomorrow we have a close championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris with one driving for Red Bull and the other driving for McLaren, tensions will be there for sure.

If they're in the same team this would only get magnified.

Friendships get ruined in front of a life goal

Everyone personifies the Nico Rosberg-Lewis Hamilton relationship these days as the one that still has some palpable tension.

Not many, however, remember that the two were very close friends before they fought for the title in 2014. Both had grown up together and raced through the junior categories as well. While Rosberg was the first to reach F1 in 2006, Hamilton joined him in 2007.

The most memorable moment between the two was when Nico Rosberg got his first-ever podium in the 2008 F1 Australian GP.

Lewis Hamilton had won the race and the two hugged profusely in the cooldown room and there was genuine happiness. Fast forward to the duo fighting for the title in 2014-16 and what we had was something completely different. The reason behind it is simple.

These drivers are not like everyday simpletons that are maybe not as headstrong. These are the ones who made their way to the top with a dream of being the world champion. It was that dream which kept them up at night and helped them train as hard as they did.

Friendships and other personal relations are one thing but they do not come in the way of their pursuit to be the best in the world. If Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are teamed up at Red Bull, we will be looking at a complete breakdown of a friendship that is adored by a lot of fans across the world.

Learn from history!

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is a more recent pairing that was destructive in its own way. It is, however, not the only one.

Go back a few more years to Hamulton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2007, and we see a sample of another such pairing. Jog our memory a few more years and we have the epic Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost rivalry that was a major management headache for Ron Dennis.

You can also add the rather toxic Nigel Mansell-Nelson Piquet partnership to the list as well. Every time two drivers that are comparable in terms of performance have been teamed up in a championship-winning car, the result has not been a good one for the team. If years of data are suggesting something then surely there must be some truth to it, isn't it?

A Max Verstappen-Lando Norris pairing might look good on paper while one does the mental gymnastics. In reality, it could prove to be a disastrous decision.