Lando Norris’ Role Dubbed Crucial as Sergio Perez Fails in Ultimate Pursuit Against Max Verstappen
via Imago
(L) Sergio Perez, (M) Lando Norris and (R) Max Verstappen Image courtesy: Imago
Looks like there is no end to Sergio Perez‘s misery. The Mexican driver is being punched with possible names to replace him left and right. The Sakhir Grand Prix winner’s career is once again staring down the barrel of a gun. For drivers like Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and now Perez, it has been difficult to keep up with the savage pace of Verstappen. But will Lando Norris, the promising young talent from Britain, be able to keep up with Verstappen?
In F1, what-ifs are an essential part of the sport. What if Sebastian Vettel did not retire in 2022? What if Nicolas Latifi hadn’t crashed in Abu Dhabi? Would Max Verstappen still be a three-time world champion? What could Lando bring to the table if he joins Max Verstappen?
Is Lando Norris a potential candidate to replace Perez?
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After winning two of the four races at the beginning of the season, Perez was hailed as a strong rival in the form of a teammate for Verstappen. However, to the dismay of the Mexican driver, he failed to make it to Q3 in five consecutive Grand Prix. To add insult to injury, he started the season with a gap of six points to Verstappen to now a whopping 209, with Lewis Hamilton closing in on him for second place in WDC. Although Daniel Ricciardo is a strong contender for the Red Bull seat, a hypothetical Norris-Verstappen pairing is in the mix.
This year, Verstappen had enough points to lead Red Bull toward their sixth constructors on his own. However, as the grid gets tighter, with McLaren and Ferrari making significant progress, enough to snatch wins from Verstappen, the importance of a second driver increases multifold. Weighing in on this, the Race F1 podcast mused, “Perez is not a bad driver but now, in a lot of weeks, he’s in the mid-field. It’s very interesting to see what would happen if Verstappen would drive the McLaren or Norris the Red Bull.”
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Red Bull is almost suffering from success. However, how long the success may last under Verstappen is uncertain. Although other teams do not have the best car, their driver lineup can make up for what they lack in engineering. The opposite is true for Red Bull. The hosts revealed, “He’s [Christian Horner] pointing out the quality of the driver lineup at McLaren. The quality of the driver lineup at Mercedes. He clearly thinks that all have a better lineup of drivers, not better than Max, better than Checo.”
The question, though, remains. Can Norris jump ship to race alongside his best friend on the grid? And does he want to?
The Norris-Verstappen dream team
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“I get on really well with Lando because he is just himself and normal. He is my best friend on the grid.” Verstappen said in an interview. It is no secret that Lando Norris and the Dutch driver are close. Everyone remembers the confused-happy reaction of Verstappen on seeing his best friend qualify second for the British Grand Prix. Many want this bromance to transition into them becoming teammates. “I’m open to it,” says Norris.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Japanese Grand Prix – Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan – September 23, 2023. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with third placed McLaren’s Lando Norris after qualifying in pole position. REUTERS/Issei Kato
On the prospect of teaming up with the Dutch driver, Norris said, “It’s definitely something I would be open to in the future. I think I can happily say that Max is probably one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1, in the history of F1. I never raced against him until I was in F1, but I was always in the category below. In karting, I already knew him reasonably well.” However, his current loyalties lie with McLaren and he wishes to earn his first victory at the British outfit.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Lando Norris’ Innocent Mistake in Referring to Lewis Hamilton May not Please Max Verstappen & Red Bull
Before building castles in the air about the Norris-Verstappen partnership at Red Bull, remember that Lando has a contract with McLaren till 2026. And if Perez is to be replaced, Red Bull has plenty of drivers to choose from. But what if, right?
Written by:
Edited by:
Akash Pandhare
