Lando Norris Honestly Unsure if He Can Beat Max Verstappen if They Drive Similar Cars in F1: “Impossible to Just Say That”

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are great friends both on and off the F1 track. As of late, they have even exchanged ideas of driving in the same team one day. However, Norris, who is driving for McLaren at the moment, remains unsure if he can beat a dominant Verstappen even if they have similar cars at their disposal, as reported by RacingNews365.

Norris is one of F1’s brightest talents, but despite making his debut nearly five years ago, is yet to win a race. Mainly, McLaren’s inability to field a competitive car could be put down as a reason behind this. However, there were moments when Norris saw victory slip out of his hands despite being agonizingly close.

Verstappen on the other hand, is a two-time world champion who is one decent performance away from making it three. He has been so dominant over the last two years that fans and pundits began claiming that he is “bored” of winning. Verstappen’s good friend, Norris, has a suggestion for him. The Brit asks him to join McLaren if he is actually bored. But can Norris beat him in the same team? He is unsure about that.

Impossible to say if Lando Norris can beat Max Verstappen

At the age of 26, Verstappen has already established himself as a Formula 1 legend. Norris has not matched his level in any way but is termed as a future world champion by many. Because of this tag, a lot of people relish the idea of Norris and Verstappen teaming up. It could be likely that Verstappen faces stiff resistance from the Bristol-born driver- at least more than the challenge his other teammates have put up to date. Norris, however, has a different take.

“I would like to believe that I can be as fast as Verstappen,” he said as quoted by Racing News 365. “But it is impossible to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to that question. I am not someone who is so confident to shout ‘yes, easy’ now.”

Adding to his comments, he, as always, decided to praise Verstappen. Norris feels that Verstappen is one of F1’s greatest ever and that no driver can confidently say they can defeat someone of his level. However, Norris did state that he can make life difficult for his good friend. Unfortunately, this can’t be tested out with both drivers tied to their teams with long term contracts.

Can Norris and Verstappen ever team up?

Ahead of the 2022 season, Norris signed a long-term deal with McLaren. This will keep him at the Woking-based outfit until at least the 2025 season. Similarly, Verstappen penned a similar deal, that made him the highest paid driver in F1, also keeping him at Red Bull till 2028.

Its unlikely that Verstappen will look elsewhere, especially if Red Bull keeps dominating. Norris, meanwhile, had thoughts of leaving McLaren after their horrendous start to the year. Fortunately, the British team has picked up, and Norris trusts the progress they are showing at the moment.

Therefore, it seems unlikely that Norris and Verstappen will team up in the foreseeable future. However, they can go toe to toe, if McLaren and Red Bull reach similar levels in terms of performance in the coming years.