Lando Norris voiced his opinion on reigning world champion Max Verstappen`s performance following their intense on-track encounters at the Miami Grand Prix, suggesting Verstappen “ruined his own race.”
At the start, Norris lost out to pole-sitter Verstappen as they contested the lead into the first chicane. Norris felt he was “forced off” track by the Red Bull at Turn 2, an evasive move that caused him to drop back to sixth position.
He then mounted a recovery drive, quickly overtaking Williams` Alex Albon and Mercedes` George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. He eventually caught up to Verstappen, who was engaged in a fierce fight for the lead with Norris`s McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri.
Piastri capitalized on a mistake by Verstappen to take the lead. Verstappen then defended robustly against Norris over several laps before finally allowing the McLaren through relatively easily.
This extended battle allowed Piastri to build a significant nine-second gap over Norris. Verstappen also lost critical time during this phase, which likely contributed to him emerging behind Russell after his pit stop later in the race.
“It was fine. He`s fighting hard, but it`s up to him to do that,” commented Norris. “He ruined his own race. He`s not racing very smart. He probably could have finished third today, and he didn`t because of that. He`s fighting hard, as always expected, but that`s way it is.”
Verstappen, whose race was also impacted by the unfortunate timing of a Virtual Safety Car, stated he was simply defending hard “like everyone else.”
“I tried to do my best. We put ourselves in a good starting position. I tried to give it a good battle, have a bit of fun out there at the same time. We couldn`t keep them behind,” Verstappen added. “The rest was just a bit unlucky, with the VSC, but at the end of the day it doesn`t matter when you`re P3 or P4, you`re here to target the win and we were very far from that.”
F1 analyst Jenson Button noted that despite the Turn 2 incident, Norris`s pace was impressive, and he seemed undeterred, knowing the car`s potential and that his opportunity would come.
Fellow analyst Martin Brundle commented on the first-lap incident, suggesting Norris had no alternative but to push through, given Verstappen`s compromised position, and that the sequence of events at Turn 1 and 2 likely cost Norris the victory.
Norris and Verstappen have had contentious battles in previous races in Austria, the USA, and Mexico City, where penalties were issued. No penalties were applied in the Miami race.
Speaking after the race, Norris highlighted the first-lap moment with Verstappen: “Without that I`m in the wall, hard.” He added that Verstappen can “do whatever he wants,” though he seemed partly facetious. Norris affirmed his intent to always go for a gap if one exists, stating he is “here to race.”
The start of the race also brought focus to F1`s updated Driving Standard Guidelines for this season, which generally permit the inside driver to push a rival wide as long as they remain within track limits.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella later admitted that, with the benefit of hindsight and knowing the car`s strong pace advantage, it might have been strategically wiser for Norris to concede the position at the start and aim to regain the lead later.
Despite the outcome, Norris expressed satisfaction with his personal progress over the weekend. While Piastri secured the win, Norris significantly reduced the gap to his teammate by the finish and also outqualified him for the first time in several races.
Norris stated he felt “more comfortable in the car again” but acknowledged areas for further improvement to be consistently challenging at the front. He concluded that despite not achieving the desired win, it was a positive weekend with strong pace, and he remains focused on future opportunities.
