Norris responds to Verstappen: "He can come and test the McLaren whenever he wants, I'll be happy to see his disappointment"

The "psychological war" has already begun between Lando Norris et Max Verstappen, the two leaders of the championship. In Japan, after his sublime victory against the two McLaren, the Dutchman had sent a little dig at his opponents, assuring that it would be much better with the MCL39 than Lando Norris and Oscar piastri currently. "I'm very happy with what I'm doing at the moment. But I thought about what would happen if I was in [the McLaren]. (…) You wouldn't see me anymore!", he had declared from Viaplay.

Obviously, this "verbal attack" could not go unanswered by the two involved. In Bahrain, Lando Norris initially played the indifference card, before asserting that Max Verstappen would not be faster with the MCL39.  "I don't mind, he can say whatever he wants. Honestly, I don't care, said the Briton on Thursday, ahead of the Bahrain Grand PrixEveryone can say what they want and believe what they want. I think Oscar [Piastri] and I are good drivers. He may be better in some areas, but he's not better in all areas. I have a lot of respect for Max, but I also know that some things are not true. He can come and test our car whenever he wants, I'll be delighted to see the disappointment on his face when he gets out of the car."

For Norris, the Red Bull is not a bad car

As for his teammate, Oscar Piastri took Max Verstappen's comments lightly. Far from being touchy, the Australian nevertheless pointed out that McLaren would have dominated the Japanese Grand Prix if the starting grid had been different. “If Max had qualified 3rd and we were 1st and 2nd [on the grid], the situation would probably have been very different. I think it was a joke. Nevertheless, qualifying made a big difference, estimated the 24-year-old pilot. I don't think it's normal to have two cars within two seconds of the leader for 50 laps. It was obvious that our car was faster. But yes, I think the gaps would have been very different if it had been the other way around from the start."

In the championship, after three Grands Prix, Lando Norris leads the way with just one point ahead of Max Verstappen. A tiny gap that confirms the Briton's idea: according to him, the Red Bull RB21 wouldn't be that bad... “It’s a good start, I’m still in the lead. Things could have been slightly better, yes, but they’re not. Max and Red Bull did a good job with a car they say they struggled with, assured the championship leader. But for the same reason, we know our difficulties, we know how tricky our car can be to drive. It's fast (…) but we've also made mistakes and we know we need to improve in some areas. We have a long way to go, we still have a lot of work to do on this car before we can focus on next year."

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