Motor racing-Norris dismisses Verstappen’s title dig as ‘nonsense’ talk

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By Alan Baldwin

DOHA, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Formula One leader Lando Norris said title rival Max Verstappen talked nonsense, and sometimes did not have a clue, after the Red Bull driver said he would have won the 2025 championship easily in a McLaren.

Red Bull’s four-times world champion is 25 points behind Norris with two races remaining.

McLaren, who clinched their second successive constructors’ title in October, have both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri battling for the crown while Verstappen gets number one treatment at Red Bull.

“Max is very welcome to say everything he wants, to be honest. He’s kind of earned the right. You know, he’s won four world championships,” Norris told reporters after finishing third in Saturday’s Qatar sprint won by Piastri with Verstappen fourth.

“He’s achieved an incredible amount – more than anyone generally dreams of achieving.

“Max generally has a good clue about a lot of things but there’s also a lot of things he doesn’t have much of a clue about. It’s also Red Bull’s way of going about things, this kind of aggressive nature and, yeah, just talking nonsense a lot of the time.”

Verstappen started sixth in the 19-lap race under the floodlights at the Lusail circuit, with the top eight scoring points.

Norris said he never saw Verstappen all race, although he modified that remark later.

“Of course I saw him but he was never too much of a threat at all,” he clarified. “My focus was more just on (Mercedes’s) George (Russell) and seeing how I could keep the tyres in a good place for later.”

The Briton added that he would continue to keep his head down, focus on one race at a time and ignore the chatter.

The Briton can win his first title in Qatar on Sunday, otherwise the battle continues to Abu Dhabi next weekend.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Clare Fallon)