NEW DELHI: Verstappen McLaren Test is officially on the table—Lando Norris has cheekily invited Max Verstappen to try out the MCL39, warning that he’ll be disappointed as the car isn’t the “rocket ship” the Red Bull driver claims it is.
The friendly war of words between the two drivers escalated after McLaren’s impressive back-to-back wins, with Norris and Oscar Piastri dominating recent Grand Prix weekends. Verstappen, however, bounced back at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, grabbing pole position by just 0.012 seconds ahead of Norris and clinching the win by 1.4 seconds, cutting Norris’ lead in the championship standings to a single point.
Verstappen: “You wouldn’t see me anymore!”
Following his victory, Verstappen suggested that he could have done even better if he had McLaren’s pace advantage:
“I’m very happy with what I’m doing right now,” Verstappen told Viaplay.
When asked if he meant the McLaren car, he confirmed:
“Yes, you wouldn’t see me anymore!”
The interviewer joked, “You would have been in Tokyo already!”
To which Verstappen replied: “Exactly!”
Verstappen’s claim stirred some debate, as he implied he could outperform Norris and Piastri if he were in the McLaren MCL39.
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Norris: “I’ll be excited to see the disappointment on his face”
Norris didn’t take the comment lightly and responded with both wit and confidence:
“I don’t mind, he can say what he wants. I don’t care, honestly.”
“Everyone can say what they want and believe what they want.”
“I believe both Oscar and myself are good drivers. I don’t believe he is, he’s maybe better at some things, but he is not better in every area.”
“I have a lot of respect for Max, but I also know some things are not true.”
“I would love, he can come and test our car any day that he wants, and I’ll be excited to see the disappointment on his face after he gets out.”
He firmly stood by the performance of McLaren and dismissed Verstappen’s suggestion that the MCL39 is an easy ticket to victory.
Looking Ahead: Norris Prepares for Bahrain
Norris, however, remains realistic about the challenges ahead, especially at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the track characteristics don’t necessarily suit the MCL39.
“I go in with no expectations whatsoever. I don’t need that weight on my shoulders. I don’t care about any of these things.”
“For me at the minute, I care about my preparation to go into Practice One and figure out what’s the best tyres, or what feels good, what feels bad.”
“Some of the things that we’re trying on the car to kind of get my feelings back into a better position. That’s also a priority for me.”
He admitted that Bahrain may not play to McLaren’s strengths:
“I don’t think we’ll have a big advantage here.”
“I think our advantage will be lessened compared to previous weekends, a trickier track, a slower speed circuit, which has not been as favourable for us.”
Norris expects fierce competition:
“I still just expect a good competition from Ferrari, Mercedes, and I even think the midfield pack will probably be a bit closer than to us this weekend.”
“So I expect a difficult weekend. I don’t expect any easy ones.”
Still, he’s optimistic about the team’s performance:
“Yes, the car is good, and yes, the team are doing an amazing job, but it’s close, like you seen the past few weekends, and Red Bull also a good car, and Max is Max, and we saw Charles and Lewis and the other guys around. So I still expect tough competition.”
