Max Verstappen’s sprint victory at the Chinese Grand Prix and pole position for Sunday’s main race in Shanghai prompted Lando Norris to take an honest assessment of the current state of F1.
Lando Norris fears F1 fans could turn away from the sport if Verstappen and Red Bull continue to dominate.
Verstappen took pole position at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. In doing so, he became the first driver this century to start each of the year’s first five races from the start.
He has won the last three league titles and is already on track for a fourth straight title this season. Verstappen has won 37 F1 races, or the last 48, while Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has won four more during that period.
Norris fears fans will lose interest as Red Bull remain elusive and Verstappen remains a complete player. “It’s unpleasant for people to watch, but it’s always been that way,” the McLaren driver said.
, it’s never fun to watch as they have more of an edge than ever before, and the only exciting races were the ones Max wasn’t in. Of course, that would [disappoint fans] – I can’t say it won’t happen.
“Of course you start to get bored when you see the same drivers winning every time without fighting, and that’s obvious. One of the best drivers in F1 history is in the most dominant car, and the combination is deadly. If Max wasn’t here and we had two Perez, we wouldn’t be in the same situation. ”
After a short break on Friday, Verstappen flexed his muscles on Saturday and won the sprint, finishing 13 seconds behind in fourth place on the grid. Then, in qualifying for the main grand prix, he had a gap of nearly 0.5 seconds not to Red Bull but to the next fastest car.
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Norris gained the fourth qualification and saw it immediately during the session, but he did not participate in the battle to stop Firth Staps -he did not expect it. British people added as follows. no. That’s no surprise when you know how difficult it is to get everything right. They’re just smart people. »
And when asked how F1 could make front-line battles more interesting, Norris had no answer. He replied: “[Red Bull] just needs to do a better job. I don’t know how much they can limit it. Everyone is doing what they want to do, so this is what makes his F1 special, cool and unique. It’s also the reason I’m here. “If everyone had the same car, you would lose half the fans and you would lose the advantage of F1, which is that everyone has their own idea. It’s so complicated that we started to change the rules. Or you may need to simplify by ending it.” I think both are effective. ”