When Lando Norris signed a contract extension with McLaren, it was suggested he feared Max Verstappen. However, the 24-year-old doesn't agree, as explained in his reasoning.
Even though his current contract with the team expires at the end of the 2025 season, Lando Norris already signed an extension with his team at the beginning of 2024.
He was potentially one of the most attractive drivers on the market, and Red Bull's Christian Horner openly said he would be interested in potentially offering the 24-year-old a seat in his team.
Red Bull is now clearly the fastest car, so many fans couldn't understand why Norris decided to sign with McLaren even when he could potentially compete for championships alongside Max Verstappen. In a recent interview with The Guardian, he said:
"I believe I can achieve a championship at McLaren, that's why I signed another contract. I absolutely think I can go up against Max and give him a good challenge."
However, the young Briton previously explained he didn't believe it would be wise to join the triple world champion in the team where he is already very well established. He explained:
"But I also rate Max, so for anyone it's extremely difficult to go up against Max in his team and challenge him for a world championship."
"He could have moved to Mercedes back in the day and gone up against Lewis [Hamilton] but would it have been a smart idea to have done that? Probably not and he probably wouldn't be in a Red Bull now and it would be a different story."
The McLaren driver believes in his team and their ability to produce a Championship-contending car after the end of the 2025 season when F1 enters new regulations. He added:
"I am not afraid in any way of Max, I'm excited to be against Max. People rate him as up with the best, so I would like to prove myself by going up against that."
"I look forward to being able to battle him, but genuinely for position and not have him half a second a lap quicker and just drive past me."
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