"Has he now gone back to pretending to be Max's friend?": Fans react to pictures of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen playing padel

F1 fans expressed their confusion after McLaren driver Lando Norris and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen were spotted playing Padel together in Qatar. The duo were involved in an intense championship battle that went the way of the Dutchman, who secured his fourth successive world championship at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Although the pair had a few battles on the track that involved some heated moments between the two, the British was not able to significantly close the gap to the Red Bull driver in the driver's standings.

Despite some tense moments off the track as well, Max Verstappen, who had secured the title after Las Vegas, was spotted playing Padel with Lando Norris in Qatar. A fan later shared the image on X (formerly Twitter):

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to the picture of the two title protagonists from the 2024 season playing Padel on X, with one fan asking:

"Has he now gone back to pretending to be Max's friend?"

"Best friends outside of grid and rivals on the grid. Whattta duo honestly," another fan wrote.

"They'll probably fly to Rwanda together right," a fan wondered.

Here are some more fans reacting to the photo of the two drivers playing padel together:

"The girls be pushing each other off track and then go “me and bestie" next moment," another user joked

"Nice way to sober up for Norris," wrote another.

"That’s adorable! Max and Lando playing padel together in Qatar sounds like a perfect mix of relaxation and competition," pointed out another.

Verstappen sealed his fourth title in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 23. Earlier this week, the Dutch driver and his partner Kelly Piquet announced that they were pregnant.

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Lando Norris reviews his championship bid against Max Verstappen

Although he managed to clinch a win in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, McLaren driver Lando Norris brushed upon the moments that hindered his championship bid against Max Verstappen. Talking about race starts and wheel-to-wheel racing with Max Verstappen in Austin and Mexico affecting his chances, Norris said (as quoted by Motorsportweek):

“I obviously lost out on a few things. And there were maybe three starts this year, which lost me one or two positions at times. But they were positions quite often just to Max. Or it was Budapest and one to Oscar [Piastri] and little things like that. Those moments only came when it was directly against Max. And it’s Max. Going up against Max in any state is always going to be tricky."

Alluding to the Dutchman's ability on the track, Norris added:

"And no one has a nice time racing Max. I think Mexico was a bit of a turning point when it was proved that not everything he does is perfect. I think if we all go back to Austin and go back to Turn 12, the majority of, I say, almost everyone on the grid, as drivers and also externally, disagreed with the fact I got the penalty."

Lando Norris ultimately finished the 2024 season P2 in the standings with four race wins to his name and 63 points behind Max Verstappen in the title race.