Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are raising the bar for their friendship. Many analysts have even advised the McLaren driver to join Red Bull due to his affinity with the Dutchman. However, amid all these pleasant circumstances, Lando Norris had once revealed how he hated Max, debunking the Red Bull champ’s exaggerated claims of friendship. That leaves us with a big question mark of what might have transpired during that event, and why did Norris despise Verstappen?

Max Verstappen has consistently stated that Lando Norris is his sole friend, and given the type of person Norris is, this remark is still an understatement in the eyes of those who admire the fun guy. The McLaren driver has always captured fans’ and F1 racers’ hearts with his lighthearted remarks and funny demeanor and in which one individual to get attracted to this persona remains the Dutchman.

However, the two-friend meet that had previously only taken place off the tracks has now taken place on the racetrack thanks to Norris’ recent success with the upgraded MCL60. But not every encounter on the F1 grid results in a memorable moment such as the ugly Q3 collision between these two closest pals at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The two best mates almost collided in the Q3 session at the Suzuka track last year. Verstappen swerved to the left of the British driver as he approached the last chicane to take pole, forcing the driver of the MCL36 to evade any potential collision and drive off the track. Lando Norris subsequently requested a fine be imposed on the Red Bull driver as a result. Although later, Verstappen made claims, “ I would never deliberately push him off the track.”

However, things changed when Verstappen was speaking with a journalist after the race and the reporter noticed Norris walking toward Verstappen and inquired if  ” They are friends again.”  To which Verstappen declared emphatically, “We were always friends.” However, the deposed Norris, who wanted to take advantage of the Suzuka track but was thwarted in doing so by Verstappen’s attempts to block him, jokingly debunked the claims and said, “ Yeah, we fell out yesterday. I hated Max yesterday.” 

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In contrast to last year where it was only Verstappen who remained mostly in the news this year appears to see both Norris and Verstappen in the headlines. While Verstappen continues to collect trophies, at least according to Christian Horner, Lando Norris appears to be bothered by the Dutchman’s successes.

Has Christian Horner attempted to taint the friendship between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris?

Red Bull and Max Verstappen have dominated the season, winning each and every race and shattering McLaren’s 35-year record by winning 12 races in a row, out of which Max has won 10. Naturally, Lando as a professional competitor would be envying his peer’s resounding dominance as he struggles to scrape through a podium finish. This was highlighted by Christian Horner after the Briton accidentally damaged Red Bull’s winning prize in Hungary.

The Mclaren driver shattered Max Verstappen’s winning trophy at the Hungarian GP podium that was worth $45,000. In his justification, Lando initially denied any responsibility, which happens to irk Christian Horner a little miffed with Norris. The Red Bull boss then tried to spark a conflict between the two stars. Initially blaming Norris, the Red Bull team principal made it apparent to Verstappen that his best friend was the offender.

In the F1 Nation podcast Christian said, “ I think it was firmly Lando’s fault that knocked it over apparently,” Later, he attempted to spice up the news by jokingly stating “ I’m starting to think it’s something personal now!”

Given McLaren’s recent success and the opportunity to assess the performance a little more do you believe there will be more of these occurrences awaiting us after the summer break?

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