Max Verstappen lifts the lid on his relationship with Lando Norris after the tight title battle

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty
Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren talk on the drivers parade - Source: Getty

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed that he and McLaren driver Lando Norris get "on well" despite the on-track tension during the 2024 F1 season. The Dutch driver successfully defended his crown once again this year and won the title for a fourth consecutive year.

However, there were moments of doubt given the drop in performances of the RB20 during the middle of the season which coincided with Norris and McLaren picking up steam and pushing the former world champion throughout the year.

The duo also got together in Austria which resulted in a puncture for Verstappen and a DNF for the British driver along with their several run-ins in Austin and Mexico in the second half of the year.

While appearing on the Talking Bulls podcast, Verstappen spoke about his dynamic with Lando Norris despite a tense title fight in the 2024 season. He reflected that his equation was not as impacted with the Brit as many on social media claimed, saying:

"People always make it really a lot worse on social media. There are a lot of idiots on that platform who always have something to say, something to complain about. There are a lot of positive people, but also some proper idiots. I think it's better just to ignore all of that.
"Lando and I, we got on very well. Of course, at times it got a bit tense on track but off the track, that shouldn't matter. We always try to do the best we can on track to get the best possible result. You're fighting for the World Championship. I think it's normal that these kind of things can happen, but we're good." (6:30)
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Max Verstappen made of his opportunities in the 2024 season and extracted the maximum out of an ailing RB20 post the Hungarian GP.


Red Bull team boss comments on supporting Max Verstappen Hungary debacle

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that he reassured Max Verstappen that they were with him in his "pain" after a disastrous weekend in Hungary that saw him finish in P5 after starting from P3.

Speaking with The Race, Horner spoke about the tense situation and said:

“After Hungary, we sat down and discussed this. [We said] ‘look, we're all in it together, we're all in that car with you, mate. You're not on your own. Your pain is our pain. Everybody's feeling it.”
“He really rose to that challenge, certainly with all the noise on the outside and the scrutiny that was on him and so on. I really felt that this year, and particularly post summer break, he stepped up."

Verstappen eventually capped off the 2024 season with two race wins in Brazil and Qatar and finished the year in P1 with 437 points with a gap of 63 points to Lando Norris.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor
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