The Shanghai International Circuit, 20 March 2025, 2.12pm: “Maybe he was joking?”
That was Max Verstappen, incredulous that Lando Norris could have uttered a public complaint about the handling of his dominant McLaren Formula 1 car.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 8 March 2024, 10.46pm: “Max!?”
And that was Norris, stunned that a Red Bull driver could have any complaint about the ride quality of their car, dominant at the time, at that fearsomely fast street track.
The two scenes handily illustrate the turnaround in the fortunes of these two still-friendly F1 rivals. Where Verstappen had entered 2024 as the favourite to seal last year’s world title, now Norris holds the tag. There are key differences, of course, but that’s exactly why we’ve posed the question we have on our cover:…
