Lando Norris says Max Verstappen “should start doing comedy” after the Dutchman suggested he could have won the world title in Norris’ McLaren.
The Red Bull driver’s remarks are based on his belief that the McLaren was the faster car for much of the season.
“He can say whatever he wants. Of course I completely disagree, as I would,” Norris said. “He’s good, but yeah. It’s not true.
“I know what Max is capable of doing and I like his confidence but I can say whatever. Not possible.”
Verstappen said after last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he won the title, that he would have wrapped it up sooner if he were driving for McLaren, and that it would have been “pretty much the same” in a Ferrari.
Norris said that he had “maybe made too many mistakes” this year.
And he acknowledged that the McLaren had been faster for more than half the season.
But he pointed out that Verstappen had built a huge lead when the Red Bull was dominating early on, when Verstappen won four of the first five races at a time when the McLaren was considerably slower than the Red Bull.
“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 said.
“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.”
In the first five races of the year, the Red Bull was on average 0.45 seconds a lap faster than the McLaren in qualifying. And over the first half of the season, it was 0.23secs faster.
McLaren have turned the tables in the second half of the season, in which their car has qualified on average 0.124secs faster than the Red Bull.
However, Verstappen’s average qualifying position over the year is 2.5 compared to Norris’ 3.7.
Norris has also had to compete with team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has taken two wins to Norris’ three, while Verstappen has dominated the other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez.
“He has to do all of his work on his own, which is hats off to him,” Norris said. “He doesn’t have someone who is pushing him. He doesn’t have someone who’s trying other things with the car.
“The data’s not as valuable when you don’t have someone who’s performing at the same level.
“There’s a lot of things that Max can do that are phenomenal. 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.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is third in the championship heading into the final two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi also questioned Verstappen’s claim.
Leclerc acknowledged that Verstappen is a “very special driver”, adding: “What makes him special is also the confidence that he has”.
But he added: “However, I think it’s very difficult to say something like that not knowing actually what the car is like,” he added.
“He’s an incredible driver, no doubt. Whether he would have made it or not [in the 2024 Ferrari], I don’t know how the Red Bull is, how the McLaren is, and he doesn’t know how the Ferrari is.
“So, it’s maybe a bit of a stretch to say something like that.”
McLaren lead Ferrari by 24 points in the constructors’ championship with 103 points still available. Red Bull are third, 53 points off the lead.
McLaren are gunning for their first constructors’ title since 1998, and Ferrari a first since 2008.
