Lando Norris would’ve caught Max Verstappen if the British GP lasted 5 more laps, states Red Bull senior figure

F1 buddies Max Verstappen and Lando Norris shared the front row for the British GP and battled it out during the first few laps of the race. To the delight of the Silverstone audience, Norris took the lead at the first corner but only managed to keep the reigning champion behind him for four laps.

After the overtake, Max Verstappen set off on his own, leaving behind the McLaren driver and his teammate Oscar Piastri. However, a safety car in the final stages of the race meant the gap between the two was reduced, with both drivers putting on different tire compounds.

To everyone's surprise, including the driver himself, McLaren put hard tires on Norris' car, when he pitted under the safety car. He was thus in a vulnerable position with both Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, opting for used softs for their final stint.

With less than 14 laps left for the checkered flag, Norris put on a masterful defense on his fellow countryman to preserve his second place. Across his final stint on the hards, the McLaren driver kept his gap to the Dutchman at around three seconds.

According to Red Bull senior figure Helmut Marko, Norris would have overtaken Verstappen with his tire advantage, if the race was five laps longer.

"If the race lasts five laps longer, Norris would catch up with Max" Marko was quoted saying by AMuS.

"The [soft] tires overheated. Not as bad as with Hamilton. But if the race lasts five laps longer, Norris will catch up with us." the Red Bull taskmaster added.

Max Verstappen radioed in his struggles about the overheating rear tires after the first few laps of the restart. However, he managed the tires until reaching the checkered flag, to continue Red Bull's win streak.

While Norris made fewer inroads on Verstappen, his teammate Oscar Piastri was hunting down Lewis Hamilton but ran out of laps to earn his first career podium.

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Max Verstappen praises Lando Norris for adding excitement to the race

Although Max Verstappen won the British GP, Lando Norris stole the limelight with his scintillating racecraft that put the Silverstone crowd on its heels. Verstappen praised the McLaren driver for his super quick getaway at the start.

"...But at least it made it a bit more exciting, I had to push for it. Lando didn't really put up a fight [on Lap 5], he was very nice to me, but then he actually came back again in the DRS, so he had a lot of pace today - he did very well today," Max Verstappen said about Norris.

Lando Norris and McLaren played a starring role in the British GP, which marked a turnaround of fortunes for the team.