Verstappen Praises 'Very Fast' Norris With Honest Verdict After Qualifying Session
F1
Max Verstappen shared his honest opinion about Lando Norris's level after being asked whether the McLaren drives like a World Champion.
Max Verstappen was outperformed by his friend and rival Lando Norris during the qualifying session at Circuit Zandvoort—in front of his home crowd.
This was the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar that the triple World Champion didn't qualify on the pole.
The 26-year-old Red Bull Racing driver gave it everything, but his lap was 0,356 seconds (quite a significant margin) slower than the one set by Norris.
Asked whether he agreed with the statement from Zak Brown claiming that Norris drives at the World Champion's level and what qualities he would highlight about the 24-year-old, Verstappen said:
"Lando is very, very fast. I think that's what you need to be. And that's why he's also in Formula 1, and that's why he's performing at the level that he's at."
While Norris is already very fast, he's two years younger than Verstappen, lacks four years of experience in F1 (compared to the Red Bull driver), and has only had a competitive car for one year. Considering everything, the Dutchman still expects him to improve a lot.
"And it will only get better with experience as well, right? I mean, of course, I've been fighting for championships probably a bit longer, so you're probably a bit more experienced with that."
"But at the end of the day, when the team is working well, the car is working well, you're driving well, then it just comes to you as well. So, yeah, I never doubted that anyway."
The British driver said he would give everything to try to catch up with Max Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship this season. But if that didn't work out, he should still be one of the favorites for the Championship title in 2025.
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