An irritated Lando Norris expressed after the qualifying round for the Singapore Grand Prix that he doesn’t take much stock in the criticism from Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver was annoyed after the final round in Q3, claiming he was hindered by the slow-moving McLaren driver in front of him.
“Oh, they’re always complaining at Red Bull,” Norris retorted when confronted with Verstappen’s criticism in Singapore. The handling of Verstappen’s Red Bull was visibly affected in the final chicane by the car driving ahead. That was Norris. According to the regulations, he didn’t need to move aside as the gap was still substantial. However, he wasn’t in a fast lap, and presumably, Verstappen and Red Bull would have preferred if Norris had held back earlier, even before the chicane.
“Well, I don’t know,” the Brit shrugged. “I didn’t see it, he was driving behind me, that’s true. But I was a few seconds ahead. So, I think it was quite normal.”
More than the complaints of his good friend, Norris is concerned about his own speed. He asserts that McLaren is not fast enough this weekend, achieving a victory from P5 will be difficult. Or perhaps even impossible. “I need to score as many points as possible, but I’m behind my competitors on the grid. And overtaking is quite difficult here.”
