He is the baby-faced Formula 1 star who earns £15million a year through racing on the biggest circuits around the world.
At just 25 years old, McLaren driver Lando Norris has attracted a whole generation of fans, hooked by his every twist and turn as he competes against the likes of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
In recent seasons, Hamilton has been forced to step aside as Dutch star Max Verstappen has cemented himself as one of the best drivers of his generation after winning four consecutive titles since 2021.
Dominating his opponents, the Dutchman won 19 out of 22 grand prixs in 2023, clinching the championship title by almost 300 points.
Last season, however, Norris launched his bid to overthrow Verstappen as King of the circuit, pushing the world champion and taking a symbolic victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
He is lauded for his humility, steely mindset and natural talent, but Norris’s rivalry with his childhood friend Verstappen has also played a pivotal role in shaping his successful career.
Last month, Norris mastered treacherous conditions in a dramatic race to beat his ‘frenemy’ and win the Australian Grand Prix.
But Verstappen fought back today, fending off a race-long challenge from Norris and Oscar Piastri to win the Japanese Grand Prix. The victory moved him to within one point of Norris, who is sat at the head of the drivers’ championship as things stand.
Max Verstappen (left) and Lando Norris (right) would appear to be enemies but are actually best friends
Young Max Vertsappen and Landon Norris, who have been rivals and friends for many years
The F1 superstars have known each other since they were children, competing for titles from a young age
Verstappen and Norris are interviewed in the Press Conference during day two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on February 27, 2025
And in true Norris and Verstappen style, the pair who spend their time off the track playing padel, jet-setting on private planes and partying at festivals such as ‘Tomorrowland’ once again clashed during the race.
The drivers came close to colliding into one another as they attempted to leave the pit lane at the same time, with Norris forced onto the grass as he pulled out of a bid to overtake Verstappen.
Norris and Verstappen’s friendship and rivalry is showcased on Netflix’s hit series, Drive to Survive, including one episode appropriately called ‘Frenemies’. It focuses on the fallout from the Australian Grand Prix last year when the pair collided.
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking the rivals were enemies, but in fact they are the best of friends.
The F1 superstars have known each other since they were children, competing for titles from a young age.
Off the track, they play padel and golf or mess around on race simulators and travel together on private jets.
Both have been vocal about their friendship, with Verstappen describing Norris as his ‘best friend on the grid’ and Norris calling the Dutchman a ‘very good friend’.
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking the rivals were enemies, but in fact they are the best of friends
Verstappen and Norris show their friendship as they hug one another
The pair talk during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 02, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Norris and Verstappen’s friendship and rivalry is showcased on Netflix’s hit series, Drive to Survive, including one episode appropriately called ‘Frenemies’
Off the track, they play padel and golf or mess around on race simulators and travel together on private jets
The F1 superstars have known each other since they were children, competing for titles from a young age
Addressing how he deals with having a best friend for a rival, he told The Sunday Times Magazine: ‘I’m a guy who treats them as two different worlds. When I’m not on the track, I’m here to live my life, to share it with people.
‘If that means I’m friends with some of the drivers and we play tennis or padel or golf, drive on the simulator – that’s how I want to live my life.’
‘As soon as the helmet’s on, you forget about all these things,’ he adds.
‘It’s a different world, you’re in a different mental state. You don’t give the guy one more metre because you’re friends with him or do a sport with him, right? In my view it’s the opposite. It makes you give them one less metre because you’re able to trust them more.
‘But then you also know how they act, when to maybe not trust them. It is a complicated balance but it’s not a bad one in my eyes.’
Norris is currently single since the end of his relationship with Portuguese model Luisinha Oliveira, with the star likely finding it challenging to hold down a relationship while spending his time hopping across different continents.
When the pair were dating, it is understood Oliveira was sent death threats by many of Norris’s female fans.
This weekend, his friend and rival Verstappen did not put a foot wrong in claiming victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, a first win of 2025 sandwiching him between Norris and Piastri in the drivers’ standings.
It felt like an important day for the season too. The day a warning shot was fired. A reminder that, despite their superior car, McLaren are not going to have it all their own way. Not least when Verstappen is the challenger.
Anyone would be forgiven for thinking the rivals were enemies, but in fact they are the best of friends
Verstappen and Norris during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico in 2024
Both have been vocal about their friendship, with Verstappen describing Norris as his ‘best friend on the grid’ and Norris calling the Dutchman a ‘very good friend’
‘The two McLarens were pushing me very hard and it was a lot of fun out there,’ said the victor. ‘Not easy, of course, to manage the tyres but I’m incredibly happy. It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn’t give up. We kept improving the car and today it was in its best form.
‘We still have work to do. But it does show that if we really nail everything, we can be up there.’
Was it, all things considered, his best weekend in a Red Bull? Perhaps. I’ll stick with the afternoon last season when he seemed to morph into some kind of amphibious being in Brazil, rising from 17th to top spot in the torrential rain at Interlagos. But this was certainly another win to tell the grandkids about.
Red Bull head honcho Christian Horner could only admire the work of his master craftsman. ‘We know the McLaren’s are very, very fast and it needed Max to be inch perfect,’ said Horner.
‘And for 53 laps he made not a single mistake and had the pace to cover them and keep them out of his DRS.
‘I think that’s one of Max’s best weekends that he’s had.’
The closest Norris, who finished second place, ever got was a brush with Verstappen in the pitlane. It almost ended in disaster for the Brit, who initially pointed the finger of blame at his rival. It felt like an act of desperation. Norris simply ran out of road.
