Lando Norris responds to Max Verstappen’s championship claims
Lando Norris has dismissed Max Verstappen’s suggestion that he would “easily” have wrapped up the world championship already if he were driving the McLaren, accusing the four-time champion of speaking without full understanding of the situation, reports BritPanorama.
The remark, made on the eve of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, has intensified the already sharp rivalry at the front of this year’s championship battle.
Norris bolstered his position in the title race by finishing third in Saturday’s sprint at the Losail International Circuit, placing one spot ahead of Verstappen. This result extended the Briton’s lead to 25 points with only the Qatar Grand Prix and next week’s Abu Dhabi finale left, a position McLaren had scarcely envisioned at the start of the season.
Verstappen had earlier sought to downplay the competitiveness of the fight, stating, “We wouldn’t be talking about a championship battle. It would already have been won, easily.” He implied that he would have transformed McLaren’s performance advantage into a significant title lead by now.
Norris, maintaining a calm demeanor, suggested that the Dutchman was oversimplifying the scenario. “Max is very welcome to say everything he wants. He has kind of earned the right because he has won four world championships,” he noted, expressing respect for Verstappen’s accomplishments.
However, Norris also pointed out, “Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things, but there are also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about,” asserting that psychological tactics will not unsettle him.
He continued, “But it is also Red Bull’s way of going about things, an aggressive nature and just talking nonsense a lot of the time. Maybe he would have done it, but he hasn’t done so far.” Norris emphasized the importance of focus and teamwork over engaging in debates instigated by competitors.
Saturday’s sprint race, convincingly won by Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, highlighted McLaren’s progress. Piastri controlled the race, despite struggling with late-race tyre vibrations caused by the aggressive kerbs, which prompted Pirelli’s precautionary 25-lap tyre usage rule for the weekend.
Following Verstappen’s fourth-place finish, Piastri now sits second in the standings, establishing a strong two-car title position for McLaren. The dynamic between Norris and Piastri contrasts sharply with Verstappen’s approach, as the Briton remains respectful yet unwilling to entertain hypothetical judgments from a rival who has not driven the same machinery.
“Maybe he would have done,” Norris concluded regarding Verstappen’s claims. “But he hasn’t done so far.” With 50 points still up for grabs—25 for the Qatar Grand Prix and another 25 for Abu Dhabi—the championship remains precariously poised. The unfolding of Sunday’s main event will be closely watched, as the stakes rise ahead of the season’s finale.
