Lando Norris has fired back at his former title rival as the heat intensifies in Bahrain.

Lando Norris is unimpressed with Max Verstappen’s comments (Image: Getty)
Lando Norris has told Max Verstappen that “if he wants to retire, he can retire” after the four-time world champion complained about the new generation of F1 cars. The Red Bull driver launched into an eye-catching rant after the second day of the first Bahrain pre-season test on Thursday.

Verstappen declared that the driving style required from the 2026 F1 cars “doesn’t make any sense at all”, comparing the new machines to Formula E. He also declared that if the latest challengers are not “fun to drive”, he would consider walking away from the series.

Reigning world champion Norris, however, had a different view on the new regulations. “A lot of fun, I really enjoyed it,” he said when asked about the cars and Verstappen’s stance. “So yeah, if he wants to retire, he can retire.

“Formula One changes all the time; sometimes it is a bit better to drive, and sometimes it is not as good to drive, but we get paid a stupid amount of money to drive, so you can’t really complain. I mean, any driver can go and find something else to do; it is not like he or any driver has to be here.

“But it is a challenge, a good, fun challenge for the engineers and drivers; it is different. You have to drive in a different way and understand things differently and manage things differently, but I still get to drive cars and travel the world and have a lot of fun, so there is nothing to complain about.

Max Verstappen is not impressed with the new cars (Image: Getty)

“I don’t expect Max isn’t going to go out and not give a s***, like he is still going to try and win, and Max is never going to not try. You’re just not going to smile as much. It certainly doesn’t feel as quick as the last few years, and certainly doesn’t handle as perfectly, but I am sure that if he came in and this was the first F1 car he started driving, then he would probably say it is amazing compared to the older cars.

“It doesn’t feel as pretty and as beautiful to drive, but it is still pretty good. It is still early days of a regulation [set] which is meant to be a good amount slower. But if you fast forward to the end of the year and look at next year, we’re going to be a lot quicker by then.

“So anyone can make their own opinions and have their own opinions and say and decide what they want to do. No one should complain about that. Every driver has their own opinions, and he didn’t like it, and I like it.”