Verstappen would have liked Norris at Red Bull: 'Have invited him'
Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
- Corwin Kunst
After winning his fourth world title, Max Verstappen revealed that he offered Lando Norris to join Red Bull Racing in the past. The Dutchman would have liked to see his friend to join, but the McLaren driver remained loyal to the Woking-based team.
Norris always had confidence in McLaren's project and has extended his contract on several occasions in recent years. The Briton now seems to be proven right, as the team lead the constructors' championship ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull.
"I've spent, of course, quite a lot of moments with Lando before. So 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 happily invited him also to be my team-mate at the time, if you want to win, you can come here [to Red Bull] as well," Verstappen revealed in an interview with F1.com.
Norris competing for prizes
Norris could win for the first time in Formula One at the Miami Grand Prix, and then went on two more occasions in the Netherlands and in Singapore. Before crossing the finish line in Miami, Norris was the driver with the most podiums without a victory.
Moreover, with the upgrade package introduced at the Miami GP, McLaren arguably had the fastest car on the grid. "Of course, I'm happy for him. He had a great season, maybe not everything went his way this year, but that's just part of the road that you're on. You make mistakes, you learn from it. It's about how you bounce back from it."
On his bond with Norris, he says: "We are friends now, we are not best friends, it's not like I call him day to day. Both of us have our own best friends, that's how you grow up, right? But we are friends. I have a lot of respect for him."
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!