Featured Image Credit: F1
Topics: Lando Norris, Formula 1, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Josh Lawless
Topics: Lando Norris, Formula 1, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Lando Norris stunned journalists with a claim about Max Verstappen and his current form after the Miami Grand Prix.
McLaren continued their dominance in the 2025 standings after completing a one-two in the Magic City, with Oscar Piastri pulling off a fourth victory and a third on the trot following his triumphs in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Teammate Norris came second and made it a fifth podium finish to move on to 115 points from the first six races of the campaign.
The McLaren duo lead the way in the rankings and the constructors' championship, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in third.
Advert
The reigning world champion has one win and three podiums from the first six races of the season and after taking pole position in qualifying, finished just outside of the top three on Sunday, behind Mercedes' George Russell.
And after the latest race, where there was an early incident between the pair of rivals, Norris was highly critical of Verstappen and his approach - which ultimately saw him drop
from first to fourth.
He accused Verstappen of "ruining" his own race and missing out on the podium after not "racing very smart" - a comment that surprised many.
"It was fine. He's fighting hard, but it's up to him to do that," Norris said after the race, as per Sky Sports.
"He ruined his own race. He's not racing very smart. He probably could have finished third today, and he didn't because of that. He's fighting hard, as always expected, but that's way it is."
A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) helped Russell overtake Verstappen, though Red Bull had an unsuccessful protest against him for what they perceived to be "driving too fast under yellow flags".
After claiming fourth spot, the four-time champion defended his approach and said he was "like everyone else" in a slightly awkward interview with Sky Sports.
However, he did acknowledge that his team were "very far" from taking the victory.
He said: "I tried to do my best. We put ourselves in a good starting position. I tried to give it a good battle, have a bit of fun out there at the same time. We couldn't keep them behind,"
"The rest was just a bit unlucky, with the VSC, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter when you're P3 or P4, you're here to target the win and we were very far from that."
Next up in the F1 calendar is the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, an event where Verstappen typically performs well after winning three of the four races held.