“The closest friends become the worst of foes” – Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are facing this situation right now. Because they are standing on the two opposite sides of a tough battle for the F1 title. Only 78 points separate the McLaren racer from beating the Dutchman and claiming the World Championship lead. Thus, every Grand Prix seems the two talents locked in a neck-and-neck fight for victory. However, away from race tracks, Lando and Max still want to remain as close friends as ever.

But when the Championship is at stake, both Max and Lando will not let each other come in their way as the Red Bull talent is targeting his fourth title win and the papaya army racer wants to grab his first. Other than Max Verstappen, Lando is also really close with Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz. And the Spaniard is only 37 points away from catching up with him. Thus, two of his closest friends on the paddocks are also his biggest rivals. So, how will Lando Norris steer through this conundrum?

Now, Mercedes’ history with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the same team shows that Championship rivals can never be friends. But Lando does not believe that. So, he said to RacingNews365, “As much as I respect the data from the past, I don’t care. I am myself and so I am different. And I want to enjoy my time, in the paddock and outside. And if that’s with Max or Carlos, who I play golf with, then so be it. It’s absolutely irrelevant.”

Since Lando Norris is so close to Verstappen, some speculations claim that he went easy on the Dutchman at the Austrian GP. What did he say about this possibility?

Lando Norris debunks leniency theory at Austrian GP

At the Austrian GP, McLaren’s new upgrades made Lando Norris‘ MCL36 much faster than its initial form at the start of 2024. Thus, Norris made a move on Verstappen as he wanted to win the race. But he could not surpass Max, and in his attempt to do so, he suffered a crash that ultimately led to his retirement from the race.

The Belgian-British racer said, “The fact that I’m good friends with Max didn’t change what happened in Austria. I tried several overtaking moves, but it didn’t go according to plan. In the end, we crashed. None of this was because I was more or less lenient.”

So, Lando wishes to be friends with his on-track rivals Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz even at the end of 2024. But do you think, moving forward, he can still maintain these friendships?