Max Verstappen spoke highly of Lando Norris after their title battle ended on Sunday (Image: X/F1 TV)
has revealed he tried to lure to join him at as he opened up on their friendship away from the track.
While Norris’ has been the fastest car on the grid for the majority of the season, the Papaya haven’t always been fighting for race wins.
It wasn’t long ago that Norris emerged as a serious target for when the team first explored replacing . went as far as confirming he had held talks with Norris “a couple of times” back in 2022.
And it could have been entirely different had Verstappen have been successful in convincing Norris to join him as his team-mate.
“I happily invited him to be my team-mate at the time!” Verstappen told F1 TV. “I was like ‘if you want to win, you can come here as well!'”
However, the Briton instead opted to stay with the Woking team, signing a long-term contract to 2028, and has led the team’s charge in fighting for the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships.
The pair have engaged in a feisty battle throughout 2024 as Norris took Verstappen closer than any driver has since in 2021.
But Verstappen, 27, clinched his fourth consecutive title after finishing fifth at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, some 10 seconds ahead of Norris in sixth.
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris could have been racing for the same team (Image: Getty)
Ultimately, Verstappen’s work early in the season was enough to see off the 25-year-old’s challenge, as their intense battles at the United States and Mexican Grands Prix provided thrilling entertainment for the fans.
There were concerns that the multitude of clashes on track and war of words between the two camps could damage Verstappen and Norris’ friendship to the point of no repair.
But the newly-crowned world champion insisted he remains on good terms with his fellow driver.
“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, but we are friends! I have a lot of respect for him,” Verstappen added.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen remain on good terms despite their title fight (Image: Getty)
“The media sometimes asks some questions with a bit of a… silly question, and then you give a bit of an answer because you’re a bit pressured, you’re in this championship fight.
“I find it a bit unfair how for example Lando gave a comment, and a lot of fans fall out over it like: ‘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 are under a lot of pressure, we had our moments together, clashes and stuff like that. But at the end of the day we can always look each other in the eye and appreciate what we are doing, we have a lot of respect on and off track.
“He’s a great guy honestly, he’s a great driver also, and I am sure also his time will come, that he will win titles.”