Lusail, Qatar – Tensions flared at the Qatar Grand Prix as McLaren's Lando Norris dismissed comments made by Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen regarding the F1 title race. The rebuttal follows Verstappen's claim that he would have "easily" secured his fifth world championship already if he had been driving the McLaren MCL39 this season.
Verstappen's initial remarks, made ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, suggested that McLaren's superior car performance should have translated into a decisive lead in the driver standings. "If we would have been in the position of how dominant of a car they [McLaren] had, let's say like that, the championship would have been over a long time ago," Verstappen stated. He implied that McLaren's failure to capitalize on their advantage was due to "others' failures".
Norris, currently leading the championship, responded to Verstappen's comments with a mix of respect and defiance. While acknowledging Verstappen's achievements, the McLaren driver questioned the accuracy of the Red Bull champion's assessment. "Max is very welcome to say everything he wants, to be honest," Norris said. "He's kind of earned the right, you know, he's won four world championships. I have a lot of respect, and I think that gives anyone a lot of credit in general. He's achieved an incredible amount more than anyone generally dreams of achieving".
However, Norris didn't hold back in his criticism of Verstappen's viewpoint and the general attitude emanating from the Red Bull camp. "So, Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things," Norris continued. "But, there's also a lot of things he doesn't have much of a clue about". He went on to add, "It's also Red Bull's way of going about things, this kind of aggressive nature and, yeah, just talking nonsense a lot of the time".
Norris further suggested that Verstappen's comments were a psychological tactic aimed at unsettling him. He insisted that he and the McLaren team would remain focused on their own performance, rather than getting drawn into a war of words. "So it depends if you want to listen to it and talk about it, like you love to, or, you do what we do as a team, which is just kind of keep our heads down, keep focused," Norris explained. "So, maybe he would have done [win the title], but he hasn't so far, and he's trying".
The exchange comes at a critical juncture in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Norris currently leads the driver standings, with his teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen close behind. With just two races remaining, including the Qatar Grand Prix, the title battle is intensifying.
Verstappen, who has been closing the gap in recent races, needs to outscore Norris to keep his championship hopes alive. However, the Red Bull driver has been struggling with his car's performance, particularly with bouncing and oversteer issues. "Yeah, we need to work on that, try and get rid of the bouncing, jumping, understeer in general in the long corners," Verstappen said. "That's still a big problem".
The Qatar Grand Prix promises to be a pivotal race, with both Norris and Verstappen determined to gain an edge over their rivals. As the tension mounts, it remains to be seen whether Verstappen can overcome his car issues and challenge for the title, or whether Norris can maintain his lead and secure his first world championship.
