Lando Norris has jumped to the defence of Red Bull and insisted that they didn’t build the RB19 to suit Max Verstappen, something which has been claimed by multiple senior figures.
Verstappen has been utterly dominant this season and is on the brink of claiming a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship, something he can seal in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.
With 13 wins from 16 races to his name this year, it’s very easy to see why he’s in such a dominant position with six races still remaining.
Nobody has been able to consistently compete with the reigning World Champion, not even his team-mate, Sergio Perez.
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Perez has often struggled even at races where Verstappen has boasted unmatchable pace, despite the pair having the same car.
Red Bull have clearly had the most unbelievable package this season, yet Perez has often failed to perform at a similar level to the Dutchman.
As a result, there have been claims that Red Bull designed the car to suit Verstappen’s driving style, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff having stated earlier in the season that the 26-year-old “tends to destroy his team-mates because the car is designed around him”.
Even Perez’s father insisted that Red Bull prioritise Verstappen, something he stated following the recent Japanese Grand Prix, where the two-time World Champion won for the 13th time this year.
Norris has insisted that any suggestions that Red Bull have designed the RB19 for Verstappen are rubbish, with an F1 team not working “like that”.
“It’s not down to the team to just make a car design for a person,” Norris exclusively told RacingNews365.com
“Maybe that’s a perfect world. It’s our job to deliver no matter what the car is.
“Max said something very similar the other day after Toto made the comment about the Red Bull. I don’t think you can just design a car for someone.
“It just doesn’t work like that. It’s very much down to the driver to drive the car they’re given.
“I think this way, if I end up being slower than my team-mates because of whatever reason, then I’m not doing a good enough job.
Instead, Norris believes that it’s simply down to the driver to get the most out of whatever package they receive, something Verstappen has consistently been able to do.
Perez has rarely exploited the RB19’s maximum performance, going against Norris’ belief that F1 drivers are paid to “make the best of every circumstance”.
“For me, the most important thing is to make a quick car,” Norris added.
“I think what people fail to understand sometimes from the outside is that a driver’s job is to drive whatever car they are given as quickly as possible.
“Yes, you want the car to be nice to you and suit you. But drivers get they get paid enough money to make the best of every circumstance.
“Whether it’s a car they like, they don’t like is tricky, is safe, whatever it is. It’s our job to go and just drive what the team give us.
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“You can have a quick car and one that is great to drive but at the end of the day, I will always pick driving a difficult car that’s quick than a nice car that’s slow.
“And I think we know that our priority is just to make a quick car. If it’s difficult it’s difficult, then we can work on making it a better car to drive.
“But at the end of the day, I care what car I drive because I would love a nice car to drive. But I would pick every day a quicker car over an easy car. Because I think that’s our job.”