Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clashed on several occasions last season (Image: Getty)
has admitted that certain racing incidents from last year caused him to lose respect for . star Norris ended up 63 points behind his rival, but they both got their elbows out during a tense mid-season spell in which the gap was shrinking race by race.
Verstappen was given two 10-second time penalties for battling with Norris at the , and another 10-second penalty at the for a collision which put Norris out of the race. The simmering tension between the pair adds an extra layer of intrigue ahead of this campaign, in which they are both expected to be prominent title contenders once again.
While Norris admits that Verstappen did go down in his estimation as a result of various 2024 run-ins, he insists that he has not lost all respect for him as a competitor and a human being.
“If I’m unhappy with Max, I’ll say I’m unhappy with Max,” Norris told . “If I get asked, that’s how I’ll answer things. I’ll answer them truthfully. I don’t ever need to make a bigger deal of things than they are.
“At certain times last year, did I lose some respect for what Max was doing in certain cases? Yes. But in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t mean I now don’t have respect for Max as a person, a guy and as a racer.”
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Lando Norris expects more fireworks with Max Verstappen this season (Image: Getty)
The stakes will be high again this season, with Verstappen going for a staggering fifth consecutive world title, and Norris hunting down his first. F1 fans are in store for a range of spicy battles towards the front of the pack, with and poised to be joined by and in going for race wins.
Norris feels it is inevitable that his and Verstappen’s personal relationship will be put to the test again over the next nine months.
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“Do I expect very tough competition and for him to make my life not easy at all? 100 per cent,” he continued. “Are we going to have a lot more moments where we come head-to-head? Absolutely.
“Are we going to have moments where we probably don’t like each other? Absolutely. But that’s normal, it happens in every other sport. Max creates that kind of marmite. Hate him or love it. But that’s what I like.”