World champion Lando Norris expects Max Verstappen to stay in Formula One and fight for a fifth title despite the Dutch driver suggesting he might leave because of his unhappiness over the sport’s new rules.
Red Bull’s Verstappen has been one of the loudest critics of the new engine era and what he calls “anti-racing”.
“I also saw that he said he wants to win a fifth world championship, so you know, I’m sure he’ll stay longer than people say,” Norris told reporters at a McLaren event at their Woking headquarters on Wednesday.
Norris beat Verstappen by two points last season, ending his friend and rival’s run of four titles in a row.
Verstappen, 28, won more races than anyone last year but Red Bull, with their own engine replacing the previous Honda power unit, have been far less competitive under the new rules.
His long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren at the end of 2027, a move Verstappen has said he gave his blessing to.
I think Max has shown his calibre in the last 10 years and especially in the last five or six has been the benchmark. So I think for everyone it would be a pretty big shame and obviously not a great look
— Oscar Piastri
“Max has earned the right to go and do whatever he wants,” said Norris. “It would be a shame and a miss for the sport if that does happen [Verstappen leaving], because he probably is one of the best drivers you’ll see in Formula One ever.
“As much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, he’s always good fun to race against ... you always feel like you want to race against the best in the world.”
Teammate Oscar Piastri agreed it would be a shame if Verstappen, who has a contract to 2028 but with known break clauses, left in his prime.
“I think Max has shown his calibre in the last 10 years and especially in the last five or six has been the benchmark,” he said. “So I think for everyone it would be a pretty big shame and obviously not a great look.”
Formula One announced changes to the rules on Monday, aimed at improving safety and addressing drivers’ concerns about how they go racing with hybrid power units now split roughly 50-50 between electric and combustion power.
Piastri admitted the tweaks were so technical, involving megajoules and kilowatt calculations, that even he struggled to explain them in simple terms.
“I still need to go through all the details of all the rules,” said the Australian. “I need someone smarter than me to explain what’s actually changed. But I think it’s a step in the right direction for sure.”
Piastri said he had tried to explain the rules to friends during the off-season, and it was a pretty long conversation with a lot of follow-up questions.
“But yeah, with the power units there’s not really an easy way to simplify them or the rules around them ... it’s always going to be a compromise, and that’s what we have.”
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