Lando Norris blasts 'clueless' Max Verstappen comments as title tensions escalate at Qatar Grand Prix

Norris strengthened his position in the title race by finishing third in Saturday’s sprint at the Losail International Circuit, one place ahead of Verstappen.

The result extends the Briton’s lead to 25 points with just the Qatar Grand Prix and next week’s Abu Dhabi finale remaining - a position McLaren had scarcely imagined at the start of the campaign.

Verstappen had earlier sought to downplay the closeness of the fight, remarking: “We wouldn’t be talking about a championship (battle). It would already have been won, easily.

"I mean they won the constructors’ championship so early, you can fill it in yourself.”

The implication was clear: Verstappen believed he would have converted McLaren’s performance advantage into a decisive title margin by now.

Norris, measured but firm, suggested the Dutchman was oversimplifying.

“Max is very welcome to say everything he wants. He has kind of earned the right because he has won four world championships,” he said.

“I have a lot of respect and he has achieved an incredible amount - more than anyone could dream of achieving - and that gives anyone credit.

“Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things, but there are also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about.

"But it is also Red Bull’s way of going about things, an aggressive nature and just talking nonsense a lot of the time. Maybe he would have done (won the title easily) but he hasn’t done so far.”

Norris clearly believes Verstappen is attempting to unsettle him psychologically, a tactic he insists will not work.

“It depends if you want to listen to it and talk about it as he would love you to do, or do what we do as a team which is keep our heads down and stay focused," he stated.

Saturday’s sprint - won convincingly by Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri - underlined the scale of McLaren’s progress.

Piastri controlled the race from the front and did so despite revealing he suffered late-race tyre vibrations, triggered by the aggressive kerbs that prompted Pirelli’s precautionary 25-lap tyre-usage rule for the Qatar weekend.

The Australian now sits second in the standings after Verstappen’s fourth-place finish, giving McLaren their strongest two-car title position in modern F1.

The internal dynamic between Norris and Piastri, who are fighting for the same championship but working within a harmonious team structure, contrasts sharply with Verstappen’s approach.

Though deeply respectful of Verstappen’s achievements, the Briton made clear he will not entertain hypothetical judgements from a rival who has not driven the same machinery.

“Maybe he would have done,” Norris concluded. “But he hasn’t done so far.”

The remaining 50 points - 25 for the Qatar Grand Prix and 25 for Abu Dhabi - still leave the championship precariously poised.

How Sunday's main event unfolds is something only time will tell.