Lando Norris says he respects Max Verstappen but thinks the four-time world champion followed Red Bull’s ‘aggressive nature’ by claiming he would have won the title in a McLaren a long time ago.
Verstappen gave an interview to F1TV during the Qatar Grand Prix on Thursday, citing the unlikely nature of still being in the title picture having started the race weekend 24 points behind Norris.
“We also have to be realistic. We are still in this battle because of the failures of others, not because – if you look at the whole season – what we have done,” said Verstappen. “Yes, we did very well, we maximized pretty much all the races… but if we had been in the position of how dominant a car they had, let’s put it that way, the championship would have been long overdue.”
After the sprint in Qatar – where Norris finished third and Verstappen fourth, extending the lead to 25 points – Norris stated that he had never seen the Dutchman behind him despite Verstappen’s attention in the opening laps, but then responded to his earlier comments.
“Of course I saw him, but he was never too much of a threat,” Norris said. “My focus was more on George [Russell] and see how I could keep the tires in a good place for later.
“Max is very welcome to say whatever he wants, to be honest. He’s actually earned the right. He’s won four world championships. I have a lot of respect, and I think that gives everyone a lot of credit in general. He’s achieved an incredible amount, more than anyone in general dreams of.”
“Max generally has a good idea of a lot of things, but there are also a lot of things he has no idea about. But it’s also the way Red Bull goes about things. It’s a kind of aggressive nature and it’s often just talking nonsense.”
“It depends on whether you want to listen to it and talk about it as much as you do [the media] like to do, or you do what we do as a team, which is keep our heads down, stay focused. Maybe he would have [won the title]but that has not happened yet. He keeps trying.”
A year ago, Verstappen also claimed he would have won the championship sooner than if he had been in a McLaren in 2024, to which Norris replied on that occasion: “He should do comedy or something. He can say whatever he wants. Of course I’m afraid I have to disagree, as I would. He’s good, but yeah, it’s not true.”
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