A thrilling duel

Horner enthusiastic: “They’re like two boxers in the ring”

Christian Horner is enthusiastic about the duel between Verstappen and Norris.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Max Verstappen versus Lando Norris. After the final thriller at Imola, Formula 1 now has its heavyweight duel. "You have two guys who are in top form and fight each other like Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, comparing the drivers to the boxing duo.

The three-time world champion from the Netherlands and the English McLaren star would tend to be welterweights and middleweights in the ring, but on the tarmac they are colossi.

It was fitting that Verstappen and Norris had also watched the Fury v Usyk fight on TV before the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna on Sunday night. Norris said that he fell into bed at around 2.00 a.m. and didn't get the usual eight to ten hours of sleep. Verstappen only felt flat and counted out after his shaky victory in Italy.

Max Verstappen triumphed in Imola.

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"I'm knackered from the bumps. My back, everything hurts, it was just so bumpy out there. I could really feel my back after twenty laps," said Verstappen after his fifth win of the season. "I'm just looking forward to lying in bed, maybe taking some painkillers and having a massage."

Narrow lead is enough
With a lead of just 0.725 seconds, Verstappen dragged himself to the finish ahead of the charging Norris in a dramatic final phase with increasingly degrading tires and a battery that was losing juice. "At some point I had no more grip and was sliding a lot. I saw that Lando was getting closer. In the last ten laps, I was completely at the end," said Verstappen, describing the final phase in which his driving prowess alone was able to compensate for the problems that opened up in front of him.

I'm just looking forward to lying in bed, maybe taking a few painkillers and having a massage.

Max Verstappen

What made his hat-trick of victories in Imola, the first since Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari from 2002 to 2004, even more extraordinary was that the Dutchman had also been flagged by the race organizers because he had already exceeded the track limits three times due to his difficulties. A further time would have earned him a penalty, which in turn would have cost him his 59th career victory. "An incredible performance from Max, who drove absolutely faultlessly," enthused Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.

Norris senses his chance
However, Verstappen's long, commanding race also showed: Red Bull's lead over rivals McLaren and Ferrari has clearly been used up. And this is likely to spur on Norris, who surprisingly beat Verstappen in Miami two weeks ago to take his first Grand Prix victory.

Lando Norris won in Miami

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"We are now at a point where we can happily say that we are in the same position as Ferrari and Red Bull," said Norris with satisfaction. In the championship standings, however, he is still a whopping 60 points behind leader Verstappen in fourth place.

Will it be exciting again?
It is curious that the world championship dominator not only won the Formula 1 race, but was also successful with three team colleagues as a sim racer in the virtual 24 hours at the Nürburgring. Verstappen remarked that he had never achieved such a double in one day before. "This is just great, we've really prepared a lot for this."

In Spain, "AS" commented smugly on Verstappen's leisure activity: "Perhaps he is no longer satisfied with one victory in F1 and needs another incentive for the weekend. The next one could be a quirky outfit, an honorable social project or caring for bees. Or he might switch teams to see what happens."

Verstappen and Norris have even enjoyed success together in front of the screen. In 2019, they won the virtual 24-hour race at Spa. Back then, Norris was contesting his first Formula 1 season and Verstappen was still in the long shadow of Lewis Hamilton. Five years later, the remaining 17 laps of this battle will be exciting. In any case, the Verstappen versus Norris duel has the makings of a perennial favorite in the premier class of motorsport.