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Lando Norris reacted angrily to Max Verstappen saying that he would be much better at McLaren than he and his teammate Oscar Piastri. The young driver absolutely disagrees with the Dutchman.
The Briton did not forget to mention Red Bull either, and the problems they have been facing for a long time.
The four-time champion beat both McLaren drivers at the Japanese Grand Prix, taking pole position by one-hundredth and keeping Norris at bay for the entire 53-lap race. After the victory, the 27-year-old declared that he would disappear into the distance with McLaren's car, and that they would not see him.
However, on the eve of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lando expressed his opinion on Verstappen's statement, believing that the current champion should get into the car and see for himself the qualities. Norris believes that Max would be disappointed.
"I don't mind, he can say whatever he wants," Norris said. “Honestly, I don’t care. Everyone can say and believe what they want. I believe that Oscar [Piastri] and I are both good drivers. He may be better at some things, but he’s not better at everything.”
“I had a lot of respect for Max, but I also knew that some of the things he said weren’t true. He can come and test our car whenever he wants, and I’ll be excited to see the disappointment on his face when he comes out of it,” he claims.
The Briton is leading the pack for now, and is currently the championship leader by one point over second-placed Verstappen. In the four races so far, including the Shanghai sprint, both drivers have beaten each other twice.
Red Bull
While Norris admitted he could have had a bigger advantage, he also questioned how serious Red Bull’s problems with their RB21 chassis were.
“It was a good start, I’m still leading. Could it have been a bit better? Yes, but it wasn’t. Max and Red Bull have done a good job with a car that they say has problems. But also, we know our problems, we know how difficult our car is to drive.”
“It’s fast, and we acknowledge all that and everything people say, but we’ve also made mistakes and we know we need to improve in certain areas,” he notes.
With three of the 24 races completed, Norris predicts a long title fight with Verstappen. “We’ve got a long way to go, we’ve still got a lot of work to do on this car before we can focus on next season.”
“I’ve had some great results, especially in the major races. Of course, I lost a few points, and a few in the sprint race in China. It was a good start, but we still have a lot of opportunities to improve and be better than we are, and we need to be better because Max is close behind me and I’m sure he’ll be there for a long time,” concluded Norris.
English (US)