Max Verstappen has revealed that he handed Lando Norris an open invitation to become his team-mate at Red Bull prior to McLaren’s recent resurgence in Formula 1.
Verstappen and Norris went head-to-head this season in a contest which saw the Red Bull driver retain the Drivers’ Championship in Las Vegas with two rounds to go.
But while their duel has taken place in opposing cars, the two could have been locking horns in the same hardware had Red Bull succeeded in landing Norris’ services.
Red Bull has had a long-term interest in Norris and talks over a move have happened on several occasions, but he has opted to remain devoted to McLaren each time.
The Briton’s allegiance has been rewarded as the Woking-based squad has overhauled Red Bull this season to be on course to attain the Constructors’ Championship.
However, Red Bull could have been cruising to the title in the scenario where Norris had accepted Verstappen’s proposal to partner him when McLaren was struggling.
“I’ve spent, of course, quite a lot of moments with Lando before,” Verstappen said.
“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 invited him also to be my team-mate at the time, if you want to win, you can come here [to Red Bull] as well.”
Verstappen defends Norris mistakes
Norris and McLaren have bemoaned several mistakes throughout the campaign that have cost them the chance to take the challenge to Verstappen down to the wire.
But while that has incited scepticism over Norris’ potential to win titles in F1, Verstappen has argued that committing errors is a natural part of a driver’s development.
“But of course, I’m happy for him,” he continued.
“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.”
Verstappen criticises ‘silly questions’
Verstappen’s crowning moment in Las Vegas was set up in Brazil when he delivered a memorable drive in the wet at Interlagos to triumph from 17th place on the grid.
Norris, who dropped from pole position to sixth, received vast criticism when he claimed his rival’s win was more “luck” than talent in regard to the timing of a red flag.
However, Norris has since clarified that his quote was “taken out of context”, with Verstappen arguing that the media instigates such episodes with leading questions.
“The media sometimes, they ask some questions which are a bit silly, or we give sometimes a bit of an answer, because we’re a bit pressured in this championship fight,” he added.
“Sometimes I find it a bit unfair when, Lando, for example, he gave a comment, and then a lot of fans, they fall out over it, ‘Ah, he’s not respectful’, or the other way around as well.
“From my side, we respect each other a lot. Of course, at times we were under a lot of pressure as well, and we had our moments together. We had some clashes and stuff like that.
“But at the end of the day, I think we can always look each other in the eye and appreciate what we’re doing.
“We have a lot of respect on-track, off-track, and he’s a great guy, honestly, like he’s a great driver also. And I’m sure that also his time will come, that he will win titles.”
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