Max Verstappen has annihilated just about every Formula 1 teammate that he has had since joining the sport.
There’s an argument that Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo are exceptions, but neither went on to enjoy the level of success that the Dutchman has.
It looks inevitable that Sergio Perez’s time alongside him will come to an end after four seasons soon, especially after struggling for much of 2024.
So the recently crowned four-time champion may be greeted by a new face on the other side of the garage from 2025, his sixth teammate in the sport.
Max Verstappen ‘invited’ Lando Norris to be Red Bull teammates
A decent fight with McLaren’s Lando Norris saw him come out on top for the fourth consecutive occasion this year.
His papaya rivals didn’t have enough in the tank to chase him down after his imperious start to the season with the RB20.
Speaking to Lawrence Barretto in a video for the Formula 1 YouTube channel, he confirmed that he has invited Norris to join him at Red Bull before.
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“I spent quite a lot of moments with Lando before – so when I was already winning and he wasn’t. I always told him your time will come.
“Stick to the process, I think he had a good team environment. I happily also invited him to be my teammate at the time and I was like ‘If you want to win, you can come here as well.’
“I’m happy for him, he had a great season. Maybe not everything went his way this year, but that’s just part of the road that you’re on.”
Would a Verstappen and Norris partnership have worked?
Judging by their frisky battles at the Mexico City Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix, Norris and Verstappen may have come to blows as teammates.
While they are friends away from the track, both have shown a relentless drive to win at almost all costs in 2024.
While it sets up a thrilling battle for the 2025 season, managing that level of conflict within a team may have ended up being akin to the Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton partnership.
READ MORE: Lando Norris sends ‘awesome’ message to Max Verstappen after clinching the 2024 F1 championship
They were friends before they became teammates when all of a sudden the heat of competition got to both of them and it ruined their friendship.
Let’s look forward to seeing these two battle it out on track for the next few years instead, and hopefully take the championship down to the wire next time too…
