Lando Norris: Max Verstappen ‘should start doing comedy’
Lando Norris says Max Verstappen “should start doing comedy” after the Dutchman suggested he could win the world title in Norris’ McLaren.
The Red Bull driver’s comments are based on his belief that McLaren has been the faster car for much of the season.
“He can say whatever he wants. Of course, I totally disagree, as I would,” Norris said. “He’s nice, but, that’s not true.
“I know what Max is capable of and I like his confidence, but what can I say. Impossible.”
Verstappen said after winning last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix that he would have finished the race faster if he had driven for McLaren and that it would have been “pretty much the same” if he had driven for Ferrari. “.
Norris said he “probably made too many mistakes” this year.
He acknowledged that McLaren had been faster for more than half a season.
But he pointed out that Verstappen had built up a huge lead when Red Bull dominated early on, when Verstappen won four of the first five races and McLaren was slower than Red Bull many.
“We had a better car than Red Bull for most of the season, but when I won, he was second, third, and when he won, I was fifth, sixth,” Norris said .
“I don’t think we can or deserve to win the title as drivers but I believe, for the first time in my career, we will go into the new year with the idea of ​​challenging for the title. We don’t expect that this year.” . “
In the first five races of the year, Red Bull was an average of 0.45 seconds faster per lap than McLaren in qualifying. In the first half of the season, it was 0.23 seconds faster.
McLaren turned things around in the second half of the season, with their cars qualifying an average of 0.124 seconds faster than Red Bull.
However, Verstappen’s average qualifying position throughout the year was 2.5, while Norris’s was 3.7.
Norris also had to contend with team-mate Oscar Piastri, who had two wins to Norris’s three, while Verstappen dominated fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Pe Reis.
“He has to do it all himself, so that’s a tribute to him,” Norris said. “No one is pushing him. No one is trying other things with the car.
“When you don’t have people performing at the same level, data isn’t as valuable.
“A lot of what Max can do is amazing. To drive at this level all the time without his teammates pushing him in any way definitely makes his life more difficult.
“But at the same time, there’s no pressure. He doesn’t have to try to beat anybody on his team. That brings some comfort.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished third in the final two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, also disputed Verstappen’s claims.
Leclerc acknowledged that Verstappen is a “very special driver”, adding: “What makes him special is the confidence he has”.
But he added: “However, I think it would be difficult to say something like that without knowing the actual condition of the car,” he added.
“There’s no doubt he’s an unbelievable driver. Whether he succeeds (in a 2024 Ferrari) or not, I don’t know about Red Bull, I don’t know about McLaren, he doesn’t know about Ferrari.
“So, that might be a bit of a stretch.”
McLaren leads Ferrari by 24 points in the constructors’ championship with 103 points remaining. Red Bull is third, 53 points off the lead.
McLaren is seeking its first constructors’ title since 1998, while Ferrari is seeking its first since 2008.
