Lando Norris has hit back at Max Verstappen’s claim that he would have “easily” won the world championship for McLaren, accusing the Red Bull driver of “talking nonsense”. The war of words erupted on the eve of the penultimate round of the season in Qatar, where Norris holds a 22-point lead over Piastri and a 25-point advantage over Verstappen.
Verstappen, a four-time world champion, had suggested that if he were driving for McLaren, the title battle would already be over. Norris responded: “Max is very welcome to say everything he wants. He has kind of earned the right because he has won four world championships. But there is also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about. It is also Red Bull’s way of going about things, an aggressive nature and just talking nonsense a lot of the time.”
The tension comes after Piastri won Saturday’s sprint race from pole position, finishing 4.9 seconds clear of George Russell, with Norris third and Verstappen fourth. Norris will secure his first world title on Sunday if he outscores Piastri by four points and finishes ahead of Verstappen in any position.
During the sprint, Verstappen attempted to intimidate Norris with a late braking move on lap three, but Norris held his nerve and pulled out of DRS range. Verstappen later complained about his car’s handling on the radio. Qualifying for Sunday’s main event takes place at 2100 local time (1800 GMT).
