Max Verstappen fires another brutal dig at Lando Norris after Japanese GP as rivalry heats up

Max Verstappen has aimed another dig at Lando Norris after the Japanese Grand Prix.

Reigning Formula 1 world champion showed his class at the Suzuka Circuit as he led from start to finish to win the Japanese Grand Prix.

Despite having a less superior car, Verstappen managed to take the chequered flag 1.4 seconds ahead of McLaren duo Norris and Oscar Piastri.

During what was a largely uneventful race, Verstappen and Norris did go close at the pit exit, with the Brit going onto the grass to avoid contact.

After the race, Verstappen was heard aiming a little dig at Norris over the incident. He joked: "That's quite an expensive lawnmower."

In another interview, the Red Bull superstar appeared to take another shot at Norris over his team's early dominance in 2025.

The 27-year-old claimed that he would've won easily if he was behind the wheel of a McLaren.

Max Verstappen aims another dig at Lando Norris and McLaren

As reported by ESPN, Verstappen said: "I'm very happy with what I'm doing.

"I don't even want to think about if I'd been in that other car [McLaren]. Then you wouldn't have seen me!"

Max Verstappen clinched victory at the Japanese Grand Prix. Image: Getty

Meanwhile, Norris was left wondering whether McLaren's strategy cost him a victory.

He said: "We tried some things. Maybe we could have tried a bit more with strategy. Overcut or undercut, we just boxed on the same lap for some reason. So some things we'll discuss, but good points for us as a team. Decent points for me. Of course, would have liked a little bit more, but have to take second sometimes.

"I probably should have tried to undercut, I think. The thing is there's always the Safety Car risk and so forth. I think I could have gone longer because I don't think I would have lost position, so that wasn't off the cards.

"I think we probably should have just tried to run the card and then tried something different. But it just wasn't today. So yeah, things we'll talk about."

Despite the disappointment in Suzuka, Norris still leads the championship with 62 points, one ahead of Verstappen.

F1 will return this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix.