Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have conceded to being best friends in F1 – with the British driver now waiting for the day that bond is “put to the test”.
Norris claims their friendship has been a slow burner, one forged more from their time in Formula 1 rather than via the junior series where they rarely locked horns, with Verstappen two years older at 25.
The duo do, however, have a love of sim racing away from F1, whilst McLaren driver Norris claims both he and Red Bull rival Verstappen possess a similar mentality when it comes to their attitude to racing.
Ahead of the recent British Grand Prix, Verstappen was asked as to which of the other 19 drivers was his ‘bestie’, to which he mentioned Norris.
In response, Norris replied: “I’ll agree with that. I think me and Max are very good friends.
“I guess we’ve kind of grown up, not exactly together, we’ve never really raced against each other until Formula 1, but we’ve grown up in a similar generation, similar times and I think we’ve always got along.
“I think certain mentalities are similar in terms of we’re here because we love it, we want to enjoy every minute that we’re here in the paddock and driving cars that we love to drive.
“But as soon as you put the helmet on, you forget about everything else, and I think we have the correct amount of respect away from the track, where you can get along and be mates, whatever it is.
“It’s not like we see each other every day or text each other every day but we get along and sometimes bump into each other, go for dinners, or go for a crêpe, whatever it is.”
Norris maintains there is also healthy respect between the two when they compete on the track.
The 23-year-old feels they are again alike they both put the helmet on.
“I’m sure there’s nothing more than what he wants to do is just beat everyone and make everyone look silly, and it’s the same the opposite way around,” said Norris.
“You don’t do anything differently, most likely, when you get in the car because we get along off track. We have the mentality of, you’re driving, you forget about everything, and off the track, you’ve a good amount of respect for each other. You can keep those two quite separate.
“But I’m sure if Max seems to be aggressive, or do things that don’t look friendly, then he’ll do them.”
At the recent British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Norris and Verstappen potentially offered a glimpse of what might be to come.
After qualifying second and first for the race respectively, Norris managed to make a better start and led for the opening laps.
Once the move came from Verstappen, however, the overtake was easy, with Norris unable to offer any resistance.
Norris naturally feels greater examinations of their friendship lie in wait.
“I’m sure when my time comes, and we’re racing for wins or championships, then I’m sure it (their friendship) will get put to the test a little bit more,” assessed Norris.
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