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Just after clinching his fourth Formula 1 world title, Max Verstappen caused a stir with a mischievous suggestion that he would’ve been champion “much earlier” in this year’s McLaren and that he wished “the best of luck” to anyone else who thought they could’ve won the crown in the 2024 Red Bull.
When that was put to Lando Norris in Qatar on Thursday, he immediately laughed.
“He should start comedy or something,” Norris replied, “He can say whatever he wants.
“Of course I completely disagree as I would. He's good but....it's not true.”
So is Verstappen or Norris right? That’s what Carlos (presumably not Sainz) from The Race Members Club asked this week, and Glenn Freeman answered in our latest F1 Extra podcast - which is available exclusively via the Members’ Club and also features our take on Yuki Tsunoda as a 2025 Red Bull prospect and much more.
WHAT WE THINK
Glenn Freeman
“I agree with the view that Max would’ve probably won the title even more easily in the McLaren.
“As always with these questions, you do have to ask what happens on the other side of the coin, so who’s in the Red Bull if Verstappen is in the McLaren? Are we to assume it’s a straight swap with Norris?
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“Whoever else was in that Red Bull at the start of the season probably wouldn’t have built up the same lead Max did. They then wouldn’t have kept eking out the wins in the early part of the summer.
“Verstappen almost papered over how quickly the Red Bull decline set in around May and June time. Because we saw him winning again we felt the Red Bull was still the best car.
“Anybody else would not have maximised all those weekends where the Red Bull wasn’t very good and I don’t think anyone else puts in that Brazil drive that effectively sealed the championship.
“That’s if Max isn’t in the Red Bull and someone else is.
“If Max is in the McLaren, that means he doesn’t have as much ground to make up on a Red Bull driver as Lando did because anyone else in the Red Bull wouldn’t have been able to build the lead Verstappen had.
“And because he’s more used to fighting for a championship, I think Max would do a better job of that comeback chase as the McLaren improved than Norris did.
“So I agree with Max, I think he definitely wins this championship in this year’s McLaren.”
HOW'S THEIR RELATIONSHIP NOW?
Verstappen’s comments came in a light-hearted interview in the immediate glow of title number four being settled, but when asked by The Race what he thought of Norris’s response on Thursday, he made clear he stood by his stance on what he could've done in a McLaren and how hard winning the title in this year's Red Bull had been.
“No one needs to respond. I know perfectly well for myself what I can and cannot do,” said Verstappen.
But he had no interest in stirring anything further. When asked a wider question about Norris’s response to the championship outcome and being gracious in defeat, Verstappen replied: “we don’t need to talk about that. We don’t need to spend time on trying to slag people off. The championship is done. We all try again next year.”
Verstappen and Norris have long been friends off-track and both have regularly been quizzed this year about whether their first title fight and its sometimes fractious nature would affect that relationship.
“There were some tougher moments, but we're still good friends,” maintained Norris.
“We had a nice word with each other after the race last weekend.
“I still have a lot of respect for him and everything he's done.
"From my side, all good.”
