Lando Norris has rubbished Max Verstappen’s claim that he would’ve won the F1 world championship 'sooner' if he drove a McLaren.
Norris, 25, could not stop Verstappen, 27, from clinching his fourth successive F1 world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last Sunday.
The Brit is second in the 2024 Driver Standings but will not be able to catch the Red Bull man despite there being two races to go this season.
After engaging with the celebrations in Vegas, Verstappen spoke to Dutch outlet De Telegraaf and claimed that people’s criticism of him only motivates him to do better.
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"Things like that only motivate me,” he said.
“If people are critical and think that I can only win in the best car, then I prove the opposite.
"If I don't get credit for this now, then I don't know what else I can do. Would I have become champion in the McLaren? Yes! And much earlier, too."
The Dutchman has won eight races this campaign, five more than his rival Norris.
But despite showing Verstappen respect, Norris claimed that the Red Bull drivers' remarks about winning a title much earlier were "not true".
"He [Max Verstappen] should start doing comedy or something," said Norris on Thursday when speaking to Sky Sports F1.
"He can say whatever he wants… Of course, I completely disagree, as I would. He's good, but it's not true."
The Brit also conceded that he didn’t ‘deserve’ to win the title this year.
"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," Norris explained.
"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."
"There's a lot of things that Max can do that are phenomenal,” he added.
“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.”
The pair will return to grid at the Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail on December 1 in the penultimate race of the season.
Topics: Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, McLaren, Formula 1
Luke Davies