McLaren driver Lando Norris has criticized Max Verstappen’s approach to racing in the Miami Grand Prix, suggesting that the four-time champion’s aggressive defense against both McLaren drivers may have cost him a podium finish.
Norris, who lost four positions on the first lap after ending up off the track while attempting to pass Verstappen, and race-winner Oscar Piastri both engaged in intense multi-lap battles with the Dutchman throughout the race.
“He’s fighting hard, but it’s up to him to do that. He’s ruining his own race. He’s not racing very smart,” Norris said. “He probably could have finished third today, and he didn’t because of that. So yeah, he’s fighting, that is always expected, but that’s what it is.”
Verstappen, who ultimately finished fourth behind Mercedes driver George Russell, dismissed the notion that losing the podium was frustrating. “Honestly it’s not frustrating at all (to lose a podium). We are here to win and today we were miles off that, so it doesn’t really matter if you are a P3 or P4,” he said. “I had nothing to lose, so I also just wanted to have a bit of fun out there.”
Norris’ own race was significantly impacted by his first-lap incident with Verstappen. After challenging the Red Bull on the outside of the first corner and attempting to pass around the outside of the second corner when Verstappen ran slightly deep, Norris was forced off the track and into the run-off area, slipping to sixth place.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested that Norris could have been more patient in his approach. “With the benefit of hindsight, let’s say that considering the situation in corner one-two, it could have been better for Lando to just lift and make sure that he could keep the second position because the car, again, with the benefit of hindsight, we see that he was very fast and he would certainly have passed Max, like Oscar, and then later Lando was in condition to do,” Stella said. “So I think like every situation in racing, you have to approach with the mindset of reviewing where the opportunities lie. And I think in this case, Lando could have been a little bit more patient.”
Norris was further delayed in his battle with Verstappen when he passed the Red Bull at Turn 11 by going off track and had to give the position back before ultimately regaining it the following lap. Despite closing in on teammate Piastri in the second stint, Norris ran out of time to challenge for the lead.
Stella, however, saw no problem in the approach taken by his driver when racing against Verstappen. . “Both drivers were approaching the overtaking in a way that had Lando not gone off by a few centimetres in corner 11, he would have completed the overtaking in what was a similar time. So I don’t think we should over-read too much into situations. I think it’s, like I said before, it’s a matter sometimes of a fraction of a second or a fraction of a metre,” he said. “The big time loss came because of having to give back the position. So I think in terms of overtaking manoeuvre and precision and determination, I don’t see that there’s any difference between both drivers.”
