‘Just the facts’ – Max Verstappen responds to Lando…

In Qatar, Lando Norris has his first-ever match point to clinch a Formula 1 world title. If the Briton scores four points more than Oscar Piastri and one point more than Max Verstappen on Sunday, the title fight will already be decided before the season finale.

However, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen stated that he would have wrapped up the championship much earlier had he been in the McLaren car. With that comment, the Dutchman suggested that the MCL39 has been significantly stronger over the course of the season than the Red Bull car, and that he would have made good use of it.

During Saturday’s press conference at the Losail International Circuit, Norris dismissed that claim as nonsense.

“Max can say whatever he wants to be honest. He’s kind of earned the right, he’s won four world championships, I’ve a lot of respect and I think that that gives anyone a lot of credit,” Norris said.

“Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things, but there’s also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about. This is Red Bull’s way of going about things – this aggressive nature, just talking nonsense a lot of the time.”

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are still in the title fight (Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images)

When Verstappen was asked during his Dutch media round in the paddock whether he was talking nonsense, the Red Bull driver laughed: “No, I just put all facts on the table.”

It may be part of the usual mind games in an F1 title battle, although Verstappen added on a more serious note that a first title fight inevitably brings extra pressure.

“I know that from my own experience as well,” he said. “When you’re fighting for your first world title, you naturally feel a bit more pressure than in the years after that.”

Less to lose than the McLaren drivers

That pressure on Norris may be visible to some extent during the Qatar race weekend, although it must be said that his lead should still be comfortable.

“It’s a bit trickier for Lando this weekend,” Verstappen replied. “Oscar feels good again, I think, and you could also see that in Q3. Lando still has a decent lead, also on Oscar, so it’s all a bit hard to predict.”

The difference in pressure also applies to Sunday’s race in Qatar. Zak Brown predicted that Verstappen will go all-in at Turn 1, precisely because he has far less to lose than the McLaren pairing.

“Yes, especially compared to Lando,” Verstappen agrees. “I think he knows that as well. But on the other hand, I’m not too worried about it. I’ll just try to do my best. If there’s an opportunity, then of course I’ll go for it. But at the same time, you don’t want to do anything crazy either, because that won’t help you anyway.”