Some suggested that Red Bull built their car around Max Verstappen, but McLaren’s Lando Norris shut that theory down.
Lando Norris has confirmed that Red Bull cannot design their race car after Max Verstappen. Verstappen is enjoying a very dominant F1 season and could clinch his third title at the Qatar GP next weekend.
The Dutchman was ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez throughout the campaign. The split between the pair has led to suggestions that Red Bull’s build-up and development is solely focused on appeasing Verstappen. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff claimed earlier this year that Verstappen was “destroying his team-mates because the car is built around him”.
Verstappen has denied the allegation and now Norris has said that is not how the team operates in F1. “The team’s job is not just to design a car for a person, “Maybe it’s a perfect world. Our job is to deliver regardless of the car. – Max said something very similar the other day after Toto commented on Red Bull. I think you can design a car for anyone. “It just doesn’t work that way.
It’s the driver’s job to drive the car they’ve been given. “I think if I’m slower than my teammates for whatever reason, then I’m not doing a good enough job. . “It’s as simple as that. It’s a manager’s job. That’s why we’re here.” “Drivers paid enough money to deliver” Norris added that it is the task of the driver, not of the team, to exploit the potential of the car when it is difficult to drive.
“The most important thing for me is to make a fast car,” he said. “I think sometimes people from the outside don’t understand that the driver’s job is to drive any car as fast as possible. “Yes, you want the car to be comfortable and suit you. But drivers are paid enough to do their best in all conditions. – Whether they like a car, they don’t like it, it’s inconvenient, safe, whatever. Our job is to go and ride only what the team gives us.
“You can have a fast car and a great car, but at the end of the day, I’ll always choose a heavy car that’s fast over a nice car that’s slow. “And I think we know that our priority is just to do. fast car If it’s hard, it’s hard, we can work to make it more manageable for the car.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t care what kind of car I drive, because I’d like to drive a nice car. But I’d choose a faster car over a simple car any day. Because I believe that’s our job. .”
