F1 News: Max Verstappen Urged Rival To Take Red Bull Seat Alongside Him

Max Verstappen reveals that he had previously urged Lando Norris to take a Red Bull seat alongside him.

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) celebrates his world drivers championship victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Four-time champion Max Verstappen has revealed that he had previously tried to tempt 2024 championship rival Lando Norris to Red Bull.

After celebrating his fourth consecutive Drivers' Championship title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen commented on the strong competition from the McLaren driver this season. Red Bull started the year off strong with 7 wins in the first 10 races. However, as the Austrian team began to experience balance issues with the RB20, McLaren had a huge performance boost with successful upgrades.

Norris celebrated his maiden F1 win in Miami and went on to secure two more victories in the Netherlands and Singapore. On top of this, he has also secured 9 podium finishes so far this season.

Whilst speaking to the media after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen congratulated Norris on his season so far:

“Lando, I know him, of course, for a long time already.

“To race a friend of yours to the title is always a little bit different. But I think we have a lot of respect for each other. And yeah, well, I’m sure that we’ll have many more battles to come.”

During an appearance on the F1 YouTube channel, the four-time champion explained that he had tried to tempt Norris to join Red Bull. He explained:

“I’ve spent quite a lot of moments with Lando before so when I was already winning and he wasn’t. I always told him, ‘Your time will come. Stick to the process, I think you’re in a good team environment.

“I happily also invited him also to be my team-mate at the time and in ‘If you want to win, you can come here as well.'”

He added:

“But of course, I’m happy for him,” Verstappen added. “He had a great season, maybe not everything went his way this year, but that’s just part of the road that you’re on.

“You make mistakes, you learn from it. It’s about how you bounce back from it.

“We are friends now, we are not best friends, it’s not like I call him day to day. Both of us have our own best friends, that’s how you grow up, right?

“But we are friends. I have a lot of respect for him and of course the media sometimes they ask some questions with a bit of a silly question and then you know you give an answer because you’re being pressured, it’s a championship fight, I find it a bit unfair.”