Max Verstappen hails Lando Norris for helping fix huge F1 problem

Max Verstappen has congratulated his F1 rival Lando Norris for laying important foundations in motorsport.

F1 is a tough sport to get into. Really tough. The reason for this is not just because you have to have incredible talent to put in consistent super fast lap times and have the bravery to do so knowing just one small mistake can put you into a nasty accident.

I mean, that alone is far from easy. But for those drivers who even have those skills, they can still end up a million miles off ever having a serious motor racing career.

The reason for this is money. Unlike football, for instance, there is no easy access to the sport. You can pick up a football and go play with your friends and hone your early skills there. Then join a team, pay small subs - then get noticed by a scout.

But motor racing? Getting a kart, getting to a track, competing in events costs money and lots of it. You want to know how much? Well George Russell revealed his father spent £1m funding his racing career, including selling his business.

Lewis Hamilton likewise has spoken many times on the sacrifices his father made including working two jobs.

Often money talks, and even then, junior drivers soon find themselves out of seats when another driver walks in with a big sponsor behind them. You see this in F1 when drivers are picked on how much money they bring to a team rather than how good they are. Now imagine this all the way down a racing pyramid.

For youngsters today, getting into F1 is a massive financial issue.

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Lando Norris to the rescue

So step in Norris, who has tried to do his bit by launching his own junior team, having gained assets from AIX Racing.

Norris's 'LN4 Fusion' will compete next year in the FIA F3 championship, the Formula Regional European Championship and the Italian F4 Championship from 2027.

For the F1 world champion it's his way of 'giving back' to the racing world and offer more opportunities for aspiring racing stars.

Verstappen backs Norris

Verstappen, whose path to F1 came mostly through the guidance of his father and Former F1 star Jos Verstappen, has praised Norris for his work.

Verstappen said: “It's tough at the moment, costs are rising.

“So the more you can help them, the better it is.

“Some real talents, they don't have a lot of money, so to be able to create these kind of initiatives is great.”

Verstappen will stick with endurance project

The four-time champion admits though that while he admires Norris's work and his own endurance racing team that he competes with, he doesn't have plans for his own single seater setup anytime soon when asked if he would do the same as Norris.

He added: "No, not really, not from my side.

“I enjoy the endurance side of things and combining endurance and Formula cars is very hectic.

“I enjoy more to be on the other side, working with established drivers, but also young guys that are finding that it is a crazy world.

“We can prepare them through the sim company we have as well. We are anyway training a lot of Formula 2, 3 and 4 drivers.

“I'm very happy with what I'm doing."

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