Norris and McLaren are themselves to blame for 'boring F1', not Verstappen

Max Verstappen is making Formula 1 boring. At least, that is the opinion of Lando Norris who does understand the fans who are now less engaged to the competition. In doing so, Norris forgets that he himself is part of Formula 1 and that it is not Max and Red Bull Racing, but McLaren and Norris himself who are guilty of making F1 boring.

Norris criticising Formula 1 is a strange situation in itself. Norris himself is part of F1. That his salary is so high is because of the popularity of the sport. Surely, then, it is remarkable for someone to openly criticise the sport. The Briton mentions that the sport is indeed boring and that this is because of the dominance of one driver and one team.

Norris tried to wrap it up nicely that this happens because of one of the best drivers ever, but he also mentioned that it was about the car that was the fastest on the grid. In other words, Verstappen wins because he himself is fast, but above all, his car is fast. In doing so, however, Norris forgets that the two things go hand in hand.

Why Verstappen manages to dominate F1

After all, Red Bull Racing have become so good in Verstappen's hands. With Verstappen's feedback, Adrian Newey and Pierre Waché have been able to make that car faster and faster. With Verstappen's feedback, they were able to figure out where things were still lacking to create the monster that the RB19 was and the RB20 is now.

It is also worth emphasising how dominant Verstappen is. This is not just because of the car. In F1 we have often seen a car this strong, but no one has been able to squeeze the maximum out of that car so many times in a row. These unique performances have been possible because Verstappen is able to do this so consistently. Sergio Perez shows in the other car that this is not so obvious.

By the way, Verstappen has not shown that only since the car became dominant. After the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen flipped a switch. He didn't have to be on top every session. Not every session had to be all-or-nothing, he simply had to maximise results in every qualifying and Grand Prix. Verstappen started doing that from the Canadian Grand Prix that followed Monaco that year, and the Dutchman has never stopped.

As for that, it would be much fairer to say that the competition are to blame for Formula 1 being boring now, if you think that is the case. After all, the competition has been unable to build a car as fast as Red Bull Racing since 2022, and no competitor have been able to perform as consistently as Verstappen does.

Why Norris and McLaren are guilty of boring F1

In that respect, Norris would do well to look in the mirror himself. The Briton has been driving for McLaren since 2019, a team that, like Verstappen, he could have controlled by now. You could point to Norris as McLaren's team leader, but not nearly as convincingly as Verstappen has been the team leader at Red Bull Racing for years. Not for nothing was McLaren looking for a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo to give Norris more of a challenge.

Those question marks at McLaren are there for a reason. Norris is in his sixth year in F1, but has yet to make that step that Verstappen made in 2018. Norris is still performing too shakily. The sprint weekend in China was typical of that. Norris drove a great sprint shootout, only to throw away a good result and precious points at the first corner in the sprint race. A mistake you haven't seen Verstappen make for years.

It is not for nothing that Norris has never managed to win a race in F1. The team, fans and himself argue that Norris has never won because of bad luck, but of course it is not bad luck. Verstappen also won races for Red Bull Racing when the team were not dominant. He was there in the moments when there was a win to be had. In those scarce moments that were there for Norris, he often did not yield.

In that respect, Norris would do well to look in the mirror. F1 may have become predictable because Verstappen wins everything, but that is not the fault of Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. It is the fault of Lando Norris, McLaren and all the other competitors. They have been unable to build a car as fast as Red Bull's for years and none of the drivers have been as consistent as Verstappen since 2018. If you think F1 is really boring, and F1 certainly isn't, then you should point the finger at everyone but Verstappen and Red Bull. Including you Lando.