Norris: Verstappen is ‘talking nonsense’ – but Max fires back

Lando Norris has a golden opportunity on Sunday to wrap up his first F1 world title at the Qatar Grand Prix, starting the race with a comfortable points advantage over his main rivals. With just one more solid result, the Briton could secure the championship before next week’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.

But the pre-race buzz hasn’t been limited to the track. Max Verstappen stirred the pot by claiming he would have already won the championship if he had been driving a McLaren this season, suggesting the MCL39 has been a significantly stronger car.

Norris didn’t take kindly to the suggestion. In Saturday’s post-Sprint press conference, he hit back with characteristic bluntness, dismissing the four-time world champion’s remarks as, in his words, “talking nonsense.”

“Max can say whatever he wants to be honest. He’s kind of earned the right, he’s won four world championships, I’ve a lot of respect and I think that that gives anyone a lot of credit,” Norris said.

“Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things, but there’s also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about. This is Red Bull’s way of going about things – this aggressive nature, just talking nonsense a lot of the time.”

Verstappen Fires Back

Verstappen shrugged off the criticism during a Dutch media session in the paddock.

“No, I just put all facts on the table,” he said, laughing, when asked if he was “talking nonsense”.

He also reflected on the pressure of a first title fight likely fely by Norris.

“I know that from my own experience as well. When you’re fighting for your first world title, you naturally feel a bit more pressure than in the years after that,” the Dutchman stated.

On the Qatar race itself, Verstappen stayed measured:

“It’s a bit trickier for Lando this weekend. Oscar feels good again, I think, and you could also see that in Q3. Lando still has a decent lead, also on Oscar, so it’s all a bit hard to predict,” he said.

• Read also: Verstappen staring at tough Qatar GP but ‘anything can happen’

“Yes, especially compared to Lando. I think he knows that as well. But on the other hand, I’m not too worried about it. I’ll just try to do my best. If there’s an opportunity, then of course I’ll go for it.

“But at the same time, you don’t want to do anything crazy either, because that won’t help you anyway.”

The math heading into Sunday is simple but brutal: if Norris outscores Piastri by four points and Verstappen by one, the Briton is champion with a race to spare.

Mind games? Facts? Nonsense? One thing’s for sure – under the Lusail floodlights, someone’s about to feel the heat.

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