Charles Leclerc makes his feelings clear on Max Verstappen after 'luck not talent' comment from Lando Norris

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has made his feelings clear on Max Verstappen's performance at the Brazilian Grand Prix after comments by Lando Norris.

Verstappen started the Grand Prix, which was run in variable conditions, in 17th place after a poor qualifying and a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine parts allocation.

But he moved up to 10th place by the end of lap two and was soon in sixth place behind the three-way battle between Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Leclerc.

Except for Ocon, all the cars in front of Verstappen elected to pit for fresh intermediates, but a safety car and subsequent red flag was called.

The stoppage meant Red Bull could change the tyres of their second-placed car without falling down the order, and Verstappen overtook Ocon after another safety car resumption before producing one of the finest drives of his career to secure a comfortable victory.

Speaking after the race, Norris - who qualified on pole but finished in sixth due to a mixture of the conditions, red flag and an error at turn one on the restart - spoke about the impact of the red flag on the race.

He said: "That's life sometimes. You take a gamble [waiting for the red flag for the pitstop]. It's paid off for them. It's not talent, it's just luck."

Although some fans interpreted this as a dig at Verstappen's win, Norris' comments appear to have been taken out of context as he was referring only to Red Bull gains from the red flag procedure, not any other aspect of Verstappen's drive.

In Miami, a safety car played a considerable role in Norris winning his first Grand Prix - and the Brit made similar comments on that occasion about how there was an element of fortune involved.

The Brit would later congratulate his championship rival on the Interlagos victory on Instagram, along with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and several others.

Speaking after the race, meanwhile, Leclerc - who finished fifth and is now mathematically out of championship contention - gave his verdict on Verstappen's victory.

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He said: "We knew the Red Bull would be good today. But honestly I think today it was more Max that made the difference than the car."

Leclerc was ahead of Verstappen during the first stint, but Ferrari elected to pit him early for fresh tyres and he rejoined in traffic behind Hamilton and Oliver Bearman.

The Monagasque driver was down in sixth at the final safety car restart, but passed Norris following his error and then George Russell.

Russell would later re-pass Leclerc, meaning he ended the Grand Prix in fifth place.