Norris Challenges Verstappen’s Claim of Winning Title in McLaren, Suggests “Comedy”

Max Verstappen secured his fourth world title last weekend in Las Vegas. Following this, Lando Norris remarked that Verstappen “should start doing comedy” after Verstappen implied he could have claimed the world championship while driving Norris’ McLaren. The Red Bull driver’s comments stem from his conviction that the McLaren vehicle held a speed advantage for a significant portion of the season. Norris stated, “He can say whatever he wants. Of course I completely disagree, as I would.” He added, “He’s good, but yeah. It’s not true.” “I know what Max is capable of doing and I like his confidence but I can say whatever. Not possible,” Norris further commented. After winning the title at last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen asserted that he would have secured the championship earlier if he had been driving for McLaren, and that the outcome would have been “pretty much the same” in a Ferrari. Norris admitted that he had “maybe made too many mistakes” during the current year. He also conceded that the McLaren car had demonstrated superior speed for over half of the season. However, Norris highlighted that Verstappen had established a substantial advantage during the Red Bull’s early dominance, a period when Verstappen secured victories in four of the initial five races, and the McLaren was significantly slower than the Red Bull. Norris stated, “For the majority of the season we’ve had a better car than Red Bull but when I’ve been winning he was second, third, when he was winning, I was fifth, sixth.” He continued, “I don’t think we could have or deserved to win the title as a driver, but I’m confident that for the first time in my career we will go into a year with the thought of challenging for the title. We didn’t expect it this year.” Data shows that in the first five races of the year, the Red Bull was, on average, 0.45 seconds per lap quicker than the McLaren during qualifying. Across the entire first half of the season, this advantage was 0.23secs. McLaren, however, reversed this trend in the second half of the season, with their car qualifying, on average, 0.124secs faster than the Red Bull. Despite this, Verstappen’s average qualifying position throughout the year stands at 2.5, in contrast to Norris’ 3.7. Furthermore, Norris has faced competition from his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has secured two victories compared to Norris’ three, whereas Verstappen has largely outperformed the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez. “He has to do all of his work on his own, which is hats off to him,” Norris remarked. He added, “He doesn’t have someone who is pushing him. He doesn’t have someone who’s trying other things with the car.” “The data’s not as valuable when you don’t have someone who’s performing at the same level,” Norris explained. He continued, “There’s a lot of things that Max can do that are phenomenal. Driving at the level he does consistently without a team-mate that can push him in any way certainly makes his life harder.” “But at the same time there’s no pressure. He doesn’t have to deal with trying to beat anyone in his own team. That comes with some comfort,” Norris concluded. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, currently positioned third in the championship standings ahead of the season’s concluding two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, also expressed skepticism regarding Verstappen’s assertion. Leclerc recognized Verstappen as a “very special driver,” further stating, “What makes him special is also the confidence that he has.” However, he appended, “However, I think it’s very difficult to say something like that not knowing actually what the car is like.” “He’s an incredible driver, no doubt. Whether he would have made it or not [in the 2024 Ferrari], I don’t know how the Red Bull is, how the McLaren is, and he doesn’t know how the Ferrari is,” Leclerc elaborated. He concluded, “So, it’s maybe a bit of a stretch to say something like that.” In the constructors’ championship, McLaren holds a 24-point lead over Ferrari, with 103 points still up for grabs. Red Bull occupies third place, trailing the leader by 53 points. McLaren aims for its first constructors’ title since 1998, while Ferrari seeks its first since 2008.