Lando Norris snubs Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for Max Verstappen

Lando Norris has publicly snubbed Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Over the years there have been a plethora of world class drivers to grace Formula One, ranging from the Ayrton Sennas and Michael Schumachers of old, to the Max Verstappens and Lewis Hamiltons of present.

Lando Norris was asked in a recent interview to create his dream driver line up and barely even hesitated, selecting Senna first, followed by Verstappen as the second driver.

This will come as high praise for the Dutchman, beating the likes of Schumacher, Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the eyes of Norris, however, the close friendship between the pair may have had an impact.

The pair can often be found live streaming sim racing games together, with the young duo spending a lot of time over the COVID pandemic online with George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon.

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Norris’ opinion does not stand alone, however, with F1 legend David Coulthard claiming that despite being only 25, Verstappen already deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as all of the Formula 1 greats.

“For me, the guy is up there with Hamilton, Senna, Schumacher – whoever you favourite driver from the past is – he’s a winning machine,” said Coulthard.

When asked the same question about his dream driver line up, Charles Leclerc decided not to go with his rival this season, instead choosing to pair Senna with Schumacher, perhaps tactically choosing to pick a former Ferrari driver as one of his pair.

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It is no surprise that Norris felt inclined to Verstappen, with the young Brit spending most of 2022 watching the #1 Red Bull disappear off into the distance from the start, often taking the checkered flag with a reasonable buffer to second place.

This year of dominance has seen the Dutchman win his second world championship in a row at the age of 25, leaving him plenty of time to surpass the achievements of those who have come before him, with seven the record to beat.

With 2022 being the first year of the new regulations, Verstappen and Red Bull will be hoping that they can enter a period of dominance, similar to Hamilton and Mercedes over the previous ten years, proving almost unbeatable in both drivers’ and constructors’ championships.