Lando Norris has expressed concerns that Max Verstappen’s dominant streak in Formula One may be deterring fans.
Verstappen has been unstoppable this season, clinching his fifth consecutive pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix.
In a standout performance, he outpaced Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by a notable margin at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Since his dramatic 2021 championship win over Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen has won an overwhelming majority of the races, and is well on his way to securing his fourth consecutive title.
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Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, has already conceded that catching Verstappen this season seems unlikely.
Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, Norris, who is close to Verstappen off the track, voiced a critical perspective on the current state of the sport.
“It is frustrating for people watching but it has always been like this.
“Now, we are seeing more dominance than ever, so it is never going to be the best to watch and the only exciting races have been the ones that Max is not in,” Norris said.
He also acknowledged the potential negative impact on fan engagement, stating, “Of course it is going to be. Of course it is going be.
“There is no way you can say it won’t be.
“If you see the same driver winning every single time without a fight then of course it does start to become boring and that is obvious.”
Norris highlighted the exceptional skills and circumstances contributing to Verstappen’s success: “You have got one of the best drivers ever in Formula One, in one of the most dominant cars and it is a combination that is deadly.
“If Max wasn’t there and you had two (Sergio) Perezs it wouldn’t be the case.”
Verstappen showcased his prowess in Saturday’s sprint race, initially lagging behind but spectacularly overtaking Hamilton and finishing a significant distance ahead.
Fernando Alonso was the nearest competitor not in a Red Bull during qualifying, yet he trailed by nearly half a second.
Reflecting on the current competitive landscape, Norris was not shocked by Red Bull’s lead.
“Am I surprised how far Red Bull is ahead?
“No.
‘When you know how tricky it is to get it right, then it makes sense.
‘They are just smart people,” he explained.
Despite hopes for a leveling of the playing field, Norris acknowledged the challenge in catching up to Red Bull.
Mercedes finds itself in a slump, far behind its previous dominant form, with Hamilton starting far back in 18th and George Russell in eighth at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Norris, who qualified fourth, remarked on Mercedes’ decline: “If you look at how dominant Mercedes have been in the past, you would have expected more from them.
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“I did, especially how much over the last few years they have said: ‘ah, now we have got it’, and they never seem to.”
He added, “We have had that, where we have hit another roadblock, so it is tricky.
“But they were almost more competitive last year than they are now and you just wouldn’t expect that from them. But it shows how complicated this sport can be.”