Lando Norris explains why Max Verstappen would face different rules at McLaren

Lando Norris has cautioned Max Verstappen that there are things that he is permitted to do at Red Bull that he would not be allowed to do as a McLaren driver.

But aside from that, the Briton sees no reason why Verstappen cannot be his next teammate at McLaren, or even Lewis Hamilton.

Lando Norris explains why Max Verstappen would face different rules at McLaren

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Although Verstappen has a long-term deal with Red Bull that runs through to 2028, it is understood that the Dutchman has a clause that would allow him to leave the team if he is not first or second in the drivers’ standings at the summer break.

That has reignited rumours that he could leave the team to join Mercedes, replacing George Russell as Kimi Antonelli’s teammate.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff shut that down in Austria.

“We don’t want to change things, and we’ve said that also to George,” he told Sky F1. “I think it’s a line-up that is good for us. I’m very happy with the two of them.”

Almost immediately, the rumour mill replaced Mercedes with McLaren.

But according to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, unless someone “slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub”, McLaren will have Norris and Oscar Piastri in the cars next season.

But as with the Max to Merc rumours, Brown’s rebuttal has done little to silence the Max to McLaren rumours.

Asked about the Verstappen rumours during FIA press conference ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend, Norris replied: “A lot of drivers want to come to McLaren, so I don’t know why you just highlight Max. There’s quite a few others that I know that want to come as well.

“So, I mean, it’s a cool thing. It’s a good thing that a four-time world champion wants to come on board and wants to potentially join the team. I don’t know how much of it’s true, but it’s a cool thing, you know.

“And there’s, if there’s an opportunity for me to drive with other people, it is something I’ve always looked forward to.

“But it’s not a thing for now. It’s not a serious thing.

“I’m also just excited for my future with McLaren. I’m still going to be here for many, many more years, so excited for whoever I get partnered with.

“But for the time being, me and Oscar are still working very well together, and yeah, we’re excited to work together for more years too. So that’s our focus for now.”

The reigning world champion warned Verstappen that if he were to head to McLaren, somethings would have to change.

Although Norris didn’t specify Verstappen’s GT3 races at the Nurburgring, he revealed that there are things Red Bull allow Verstappen to do that McLaren may not support.

“It would certainly be a different vibe for him,” Norris told BBC. “Philosophies and mentalities are certainly different between what Red Bull are and what we are.

“And there’s certain things that he would not be able to do at McLaren that he feels like he can do in Red Bull.”

But while it may sounds like Norris is worried about taking on a world champion as a teammate, it is anything but.

The Briton insists he is not worried about sizing up against Verstappen, just as he wouldn’t be concerned about going up against Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.

“I welcome anyone as a teammate,” he says. “Of course, Max is, alongside Lewis and Fernando – world champions, I would say – he’s alongside some of the best.

“You always want to try and prove yourself against the best. And the best way to prove yourself against the best is to have them as your teammate. So I’m very open to anyone being my team-mate, honestly.

“I would love Max to be my teammate. I would love if Lewis was my teammate. I would love if Fernando was my teammate.”

But in a testament to his current teammate Oscar Piastri, he reckons the Australian driver has been the teammate who has pushed him the most.

“But I also like Oscar as a teammate,” he continued. “You know, he’s honestly an unbelievable driver. I have a very strong teammate that pushes me.”

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On his side, though, Norris has no desire to leave McLaren.

After all, he is in an environment that he loves at the Woking team and that trumps most things – even F1 victories.

“The thing that people don’t realise is I want to win races, and I certainly want to win here and now, and I want to win in the future, and you’ve got to think of both things in the world of Formula 1,” he explained.

“But I’ll also at times choose happiness of place over maybe some unknown territory.

“There might be a year in Formula 1 where I’m very happy at McLaren. We might win, we might not. I’d rather stay here and enjoy my years at McLaren than maybe choose to go somewhere else where I could have a better chance.

“I’ll always try to be at a team that I can win with. And for a long time I’ve been with McLaren. I believed it could be McLaren.

“But for me there’s a fine line between just wanting to go out and win and also just wanting to be with people that I love to be with, a team that I love to be with, and fighting with them. And I’ve fought with McLaren since the beginning in a way.”

Asked if he could be at McLaren for life, he replied: “Quite potentially.

“I’m not against it at all. I would love to be.

“I feel like I’m dedicated to them. They gave me my opportunity in the first place. We’ve won together. We want to win many more together.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be in Formula 1, but yeah, it’s certainly a possibility.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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