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Max Verstappen has issued an update on his relationship with McLaren star Lando Norris following their ‘spicy’ battle in the Formula 1 title fight last season.
We’ve seen friends become foes time and time again in the history of F1, and the latest relationship to appear fractured is the one between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen following consecutive seasons of title fights against each other.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s relationship is a perfect case study of what the quest for a world championship can do to a long-standing friendship, and we all know how that one turned out.
One journalist believes that Norris and Verstappen’s relationship has taken a ‘battering’ due to their recent battles in the drivers’ standings, but the Dutchman has shared his own perspective on the matter.
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Max Verstappen gives an honest update on his relationship with F1 rival Lando Norris
During an interview with Bloomberg at Red Bull’s 2026 F1 season launch event in Detroit, Michigan, Verstappen was explicitly asked about whether he is still friends with last year’s title-winner.
The four-time world champion issued an honest update, saying, “Yeah, I mean, that has never changed. It’s always been the same.
“It got spicy, but there’s also a bit of fun in it, just being like that. Honestly, the media always makes it probably a bit more spicy than it actually is.”
Of course, it is natural for two drivers to grow apart once a championship is on the line, even more so if it is a friend who is standing in their way of it.
Despite last season proving to be a more serious championship challenge than the one Norris put up in 2024, their on-track battles in 2025 certainly came across a bit more tame.
This was mainly due to the overwhelming dominance that McLaren’s F1 car showed at certain tracks. When a circuit suited the package that the MCL39 had in its locker, Norris and his McLaren counterpart, Oscar Piastri, were rarely seen again after the drop of the lights.
The respect that Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have for each other is evident
After Norris clinched the title with his third-place finish at the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP, Verstappen was one of the first drivers to congratulate his championship rival amid the celebrations.
Despite the war of words that ensued in the media room leading up to the championship finale, the respect they have for each other’s talents is still very much evident.
After the Dutchman locked in his fourth world title in the year prior, Verstappen told Norris that his ‘time will come’ to lift the drivers’ championship.
Of course, the Red Bull star would much rather the title be in his own hands, but it showed a different side to the often robotic F1 icon.
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