Lando Norris issues damning verdict on McLaren after British GP qualifying

Lando Norris has exchanged some choice words towards McLaren after qualifying in sixth position at the British Grand Prix.

After winning his first drivers title at the seventh attempt in 2025, McLaren and Norris have dropped down the pecking order as Mercedes and Ferrari dominate the standings.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli claimed his first Sprint victory at Silverstone on Saturday, and will take pole position on Sunday, finishing narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell.

A delightful afternoon for rising star Antonelli, though, was the complete opposite for Norris, who took his anger out on McLaren after shouting an expletive message down the radio following a frantic end to the Sprint race.

"Yeah, well done, good job. Just f*** me guys, let's get it right for once, please," he said after his car was reportedly struggling from being underfuelled, leaving the driver to step off the throttle.

Lead race engineer Will Joseph then replied, saying, "Good day, we'll get it right tomorrow."

Norris' frustrations were understandable after failing to chase down the top two, Antonelli and Hamilton, continuing to direct his frustrations towards McLaren after qualifying in sixth for Sunday's race.

"There are no excuses for now. This is quite poor from our side. A track like this is to do with efficiency of car, it's just understanding the car and it's dynamics. Two teams understand it better than everyone else, that's why they are ahead," he said via BBC Sport.

"I think we can't just develop the car, we have to catch up, it's a mixture of a lot of things. It's stuff that will take time, the team know that time is not on our side. We've got to understand the car now and bring parts to it quickly and quicker than every other team.

"There's nothing we can do now, we just have to maximise our performance."

Lando Norris wants to team up with Max Verstappen

After going toe-to-toe for the Formula 1 drivers championship in 2025, Norris would relish the opportunity to become teammates with Max Verstappen.

The future of the four-time world champion has been discussed as Red Bull continue to tumble down the standings, currently sitting in fourth position behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

READ MORE: 'Drivers talk too much' - Lando Norris hits back at F1 rival ahead of British GP

Verstappen switching from Red Bull would be as seismic as Hamilton's move to Ferrari, and if the opportunity ever arose, Norris would relish having another competitive teammate like Oscar Piastri.

"I welcome anyone as a teammate," Norris recently said.

"Of course, Max is, alongside Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] - world champions, I would say - he's alongside some of the best.

"You always want to try and prove yourself against the best. And the best way to prove yourself against the best is to have them as your teammate. So I'm very open to anyone being my teammate, honestly.

"I would love Max to be my teammate. I would love it if Lewis were my teammate. I would love it if Fernando were my teammate. But I also like Oscar as a teammate. You know, he's honestly an unbelievable driver. I have a very strong teammate who pushes me."

Of course, since Verstappen has always been the number one driver, the team rules would be a difficult transition if he joined Norris at McLaren and it remains to be seen where his future lies.