Lando Norris reveals stance on rival Max Verstappen leaving F1: ‘He’d be missed’

Lando Norris admits that Max Verstappen would be a “miss” for Formula One should the Dutchman retire from the sport at the end of the season.Four-time F1 world champion Verstappen has repeatedly voiced his disdain for F1’s new era in 2026, describing the new regulations as “anti-racing” and “like Formula E on steroids”, such is the focus on energy management. Red Bull are also struggling, languishing sixth in the championship standings, with Verstappen ninth in the drivers’ leaderboard.AdvertisementNorris, who pipped Verstappen to the 2025 drivers’ title by two points, has also been critical of the new cars, labelling some instances of overtaking as “artificial”. However, when asked about Verstappen’s threat to leave the sport at the last round in Japan, the Briton believes his rival could stay in the paddock longer than many are led to believe.“Max has earned the right to do whatever he wants,” said Norris, at a McLaren media event on Wednesday. “He’s very open to saying what he thinks, he’s himself and that’s a good way to live your life.“He’d be a miss and it’d be a shame for the sport. He’s one of the best-ever drivers in Formula One. It’d be shame for us, as much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, it’s always cool to race someone with four world championships.“To be honest though, I also enjoy watching him race GT3s at the weekend. It’s all relative – when you see the new guys, they say the cars are sick. For previous drivers, we have something to compare them against and it’s all relative.Advertisement“I’m sure he’ll stay longer than people say.”Similarly, Norris’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri said that Verstappen’s exit would be a “big loss for the sport”.“It would be a shame if that ended up happening,” said Piastri, who missed out on last year’s world championship having held the lead for six months.“The Red Bull doesn’t look like the most competitive car at the moment but the regulations that are being worked on, they’re more complex.“It would be a shame for the sport to lose Max, it would be a big loss for the sport as a whole. We want to race against the best, Max has shown his calibre over 10 years and over the last five or six years, he’s been the benchmark.”Lando Norris, right, is confident Max Verstappen, left, will stick around in F1 (PA Wire)Norris also gave his initial reaction to tweaks made on Monday to this year’s regulations, designed to reduce “lift and coast” and “super-clipping.”Advertisement“If you compare to qualifying last year, there was nothing to have as an excuse for something happening,” Norris explained.“It was about trying to brake as late as possible, crack open the throttle to be as much on the limit as possible, that extra 1 per cent more in qualifying – but now it went away.“That’s the special 1 per cent which makes it surprising – a guy on pole deserves it because they’ve taken risks and now that’s been taken away.“This year, when you make a mistake, sometimes it benefits you, the battery redeploys and you gain.“In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have that.”After a five-week break, F1 next goes racing at the Miami Grand Prix on 1-3 May.