Lando Norris admits he can understand if fans stop watching ‘BORING’ Formula 1… as Max Verstappen continues dominant streak with Chinese Grand Prix pole

Lando Norris admits he can’t blame fans who decide to turn their backs on Formula 1 in the wake of Max Verstappen’s incredible but increasingly predictable dominance in the sport.

Three-time world champion Verstappen has started the 2024 season in the same emphatic way he finished the last one, winning three of the first four races. The only blemish on Verstappen’s copybook came at the Australian Grand Prix, where he was forced into an early retirement after his car was hit by a reliability issue.

With those temporary problems now in the past, Red Bull’s flying Dutchman has a golden opportunity to make it four wins from five as he prepares to start Sunday morning’s Chinese Grand Prix on pole.

Victory in China for the championship leader would only reinforce Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff’s assertion that no one could catch Verstappen this season. This assessment, while fair, paints a bleak picture for fans who were craving a close title fight.

“Of course it will. You can’t say it won’t be the case,” said Norris, who will start fourth on Sunday morning, when asked if Verstappen’s continued success would be a dampener for the fans.

Verstappen has won three of the first four races as he continues to thrive in his Red Bull

“If you see the same driver winning every time without a fight, then of course it starts to get boring and that’s obvious.

“It’s frustrating for the people watching, but that’s sport. It’s always been like this. Now we’re seeing more dominance than ever, so it’s never going to be the best to watch and the only exciting races are the ones Max doesn’t compete in.

“As a field, from start to finish, this is almost the closest it’s ever been. But you’ve just had one of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time in one of the most dominant cars and it’s a deadly combination.

So how can sport achieve leveling the playing field? It’s a question that has left even Norris perplexed.

He said: “They (Red Bull) are just doing a better job and I don’t know how much you can limit that? This is also what makes Formula 1 so special, so cool and unique, because everyone does what they want.

Norris admits it would be complicated to make significant changes to the sport’s rules

“If everyone had the same car, you would lose half the fans and you would lose the special thing about Formula 1, which is that everyone has their own ideas.”

“It’s so complicated that maybe we need to simplify things by opening or closing the regulations.” Both could work, I suppose.