Lando Norris has argues that it’s not just Max Verstappen enabling Red Bull to be a contender so far this season, but that the RB21 Formula 1 car is “pretty damn good.”
Red Bull has had a rollercoaster start to the season where through-corner balance and tyre degradation issues have hindered Verstappen’s progress.
Still, the Dutchman has remained a contender thanks to stellar performances where the RB21 has been at its best: second in Melbourne, first at Suzuka and second in Saudi Arabia.
That has kept Verstappen in the fight for the F1 title, and he sits just 12 points behind Championship leader Oscar Piastri and two points behind Norris in the Drivers’ standings.
Verstappen’s title hunt comes amid heightened troubles in the second Red Bull seat that saw Liam Lawson replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two races.
While Tsunoda was able to score points and crack the top-10 in qualifying across the recent triple-header, Verstappen scored two pole positions and one race victory in that span to heighten the sense that the Dutchman is operating on an extraordinary level beyond the means of his car.
However, speaking ahead of Verstappen’s recent heroics, Norris contested that the RB21 is better than people give it credit for.
“We had a very good weekend in Melbourne, but Max was still right on me,” Norris told Autosport Magazine at the Chinese Grand Prix.
“And that’s not just because he’s an incredible driver in those conditions – their car is still pretty damn good.
“You need both. And Red Bull have a pretty decent car and a very, very good driver.
“There’s no other way they’d be able to compete against us if that’s not the case. So, I think Red Bull and Max, we can never doubt them.”
Norris agrees McLaren has supremacy over Red Bull
Despite talking up the Red Bull RB21, Norris didn’t shy away from the fact McLaren has the best machine on the current F1 grid.
His argument, however, is that the prowess of the car does the majority of the work in attaining a driver’s position in the pecking order.
Then it’s up the pilot to make that final bit of difference, which in the fine margins of F1’s qualifying sessions today, where a few tenths can cover at least the top-10, isn’t a wild statement to make.
“100 per cent I acknowledge I’ve got the best car on the grid,” Norris continued.
“Very happy that I say that because it’s been a while. I’m proud that we’ve got to that point as a team and I think we’re all proud that we can say that.
“But, like people have always said, ‘The driver can also make a difference’.
“I wouldn’t be able to win without the best car. But the car needs to be within like one per cent. It needs to be within that little bit that the driver can then make a difference.
“But like Max could have won in Australia and that’s not because the car’s sh*t and he’s just amazing – the car’s pretty damn good. And he’s also very good.
“It’s kind of that you need that little balance right at the end. That one per cent the driver can add on to.”
Norris then argues that he and Piastri help drive more out of one another to produce better results than one stellar driver can do in a team alone.
“I think it mainly goes back to the aspect of me and Oscar helping each other, and using each other, it’s an advantage,” he explained.
“That we definitely get more out of one another than any guy on the grid can do alone.”
However, emerging from the other side of the recent triple-header, Norris has found it hard to extract that “one per cent” to add on to make the crucial difference required to succeed.
Errors in qualifying in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia restricted Norris to start in sixth and 10th place respectively across the two GPs.
As Piastri took back-to-back wins, Norris could only finish third and fourth.
Moving forward, Norris is confident he has the skills to get back to the top.
“I have the confidence that the pace is there, and I feel like I’m the best at the minute, but I make my life too tough on Saturday,” he said following the Saudi Arabian GP.
READ MORE – Lando Norris urges Red Bull to get ‘better’ rather than ‘complain’ about McLaren
