Lando Norris Responds to Max Verstappen’s Claim About McLaren and World Title

Posted : 29 November 2024

Lando Norris has responded to Max Verstappen's recent comments, suggesting that the Dutch driver could have won the world title driving for McLaren. Verstappen made the claim after winning the title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, asserting that he would have secured the championship much sooner had he been driving the McLaren, which he believed was the faster car for much of the season.

Norris, however, strongly disagreed with Verstappen's assertion, calling it untrue and suggesting that Verstappen should "start doing comedy" for making such a claim.

Norris acknowledged that the McLaren had indeed been faster than the Red Bull for a significant portion of the season but pointed out that Verstappen had built an enormous lead earlier in the year when the Red Bull was clearly dominant.

In the first part of the season, Verstappen won four of the first five races, while McLaren struggled with a slower car. Norris reflected that although McLaren was competitive in the latter part of the season, Verstappen's early lead was insurmountable for anyone, including himself.

Despite his reservations about Verstappen's claims, Norris emphasized that for the first time in his career, he is confident that McLaren will enter the new season with serious hopes of challenging for the title. He noted that, although he didn't expect to be in the fight this year, the team's improved performance has given him a strong belief in their future prospects.

McLaren's car has shown significant progress, outperforming Red Bull in qualifying in the second half of the season, but Norris also acknowledged that Verstappen's consistency and ability to maintain a high level of performance, despite not having a teammate to challenge him, are remarkable feats.

The challenge of competing with his teammate Oscar Piastri, who has secured two wins this season, has made Norris' task even harder. Piastri's strong performances have ensured that Norris doesn't have the same advantage of a teammate to push him in the same way that Verstappen faces in Red Bull, where Sergio Perez has struggled to match his teammate's pace.

Norris expressed respect for Verstappen's ability to maintain his dominance despite the lack of internal competition, while also noting that this lack of competition can also offer a certain level of comfort, without the internal pressure to outperform a teammate.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari also weighed in on Verstappen's comments, agreeing that the Red Bull driver is exceptional but cautioning against making definitive statements about what might have been possible in different cars.

Leclerc acknowledged Verstappen's confidence but pointed out the difficulty in comparing cars that the drivers have not personally experienced. With McLaren and Ferrari both battling for second place in the Constructors' Championship, Leclerc emphasized the uncertainty in making such claims about other teams' performances, given that Verstappen hasn't driven the McLaren or Ferrari himself.

Lando Norris Responds to Max Verstappen’s Claim About McLaren and World Title

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