Norris drops bold Verstappen Nürburgring verdict after eye-opening McLaren run

The McLaren driver, alongside teammate Oscar Piastri, completed laps of the legendary “Green Hell” during a Pirelli tyre test, and admitted he was thrilled by the experience. Norris described it as the most fun he has had all year, particularly given his long-standing familiarity with the circuit through simulators.

“Yeah, it was the most fun I’ve had all year, to be honest. It was a lot of fun. Also because it’s been a circuit I’ve driven on Gran Turismo and other races. It’s on the simulator for years. And it’s one of those tracks that everyone just wants to drive, whether you’re a racing driver or not. It’s just always cool to go and do that because it’s so unique,” Norris said to GPblog in Miami.

Reflecting further on his Nordschleife outing, Norris acknowledged the risks that come with racing at such a demanding venue, while also revealing how closely he has followed Verstappen’s GT racing exploits. “I mean, I felt I was lucky. I feel like you can do it in any car and probably have a lot of fun. Even McLaren is scary and fun. But it was cool that I got to do one of those things. As much as I’ve been in Formula 1 for years, I’ve been to Nürburgring countless times. It was my first opportunity to actually go on the Nordschleife and drive, but I’ve also been watching all of the onboards. I knew the track off by heart already, so I felt like I knew the track, but I’ve been watching all the GT races that Max has been doing. I have quite a few of my friends in GT racing, so I’ve watched it for years,” he added.

Norris admitted the Nürburgring lived up to its reputation, while also referencing the unfortunate crash during the recent NLS 4 race. The McLaren driver expressed sympathy for those involved but emphasised that such incidents are part of motorsport rather than being unique to the circuit.

Speaking on his support for Verstappen during the 24-hour race, Norris concluded: “He’s got a 24-hour. I’ll be watching, maybe not the whole 24 hours, but as much as possible. And I’m supporting Max, because he’s a guy that I respect a lot. And I’ve enjoyed watching him and Christopher Hasse racing in the last few weeks. It’s good to watch.”

Earlier, Norris and Piastri described their outing at the Nürburgring after hitting the circuit in a McLaren sports car. The reigning world champion, with an enormous smile on his face, detailed his experience: “It was pretty freaking sick. We hit 295. We would have gone quicker, but we had to go into the pit lane. Yeah, [it was everything I hoped for]. I think it’s more fun because we get to race cars and dive bomb people and all that.”

Piastri, who also hit the track in the rain, detailed how tricky it is to drive the circuit in wet conditions, before summing up his experience as scary. “Turns out when it’s wet and cold, it’s very, very, very slippery. I genuinely don’t think I got above half throttle for the whole lap, so that was an eye-opener. It was pretty sketchy.” Asked to sum up his experience in three words, he added: “Scary as… I’ll let you work out the rest.”

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