Max Verstappen jokes with Lando Norris after grass moment: “A rather expensive choice” – Japanese GP. Verstappen jokes about Norris's pit exit scare: “A costly choice” – Japanese GP.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris finished the race in first and second place, with the Dutchman returning to victory after four races, the last being Qatar 2024. A grand comeback for the world champion, once again demonstrating his value. Max Verstappen, who, at the end of the Japanese GP, made a joke about Norris during the tense pit stop moments.

The 53 laps of the GP held this morning were fairly uneventful, with very few exciting moments for the viewers. The most striking and certainly the most significant was the episode involving Verstappen and Norris, who both entered the pit lane for a tyre change on the same lap. When it came time to change tyres, on lap 21 of 53, the Dutchman maintained the advantage he had built up in the previous laps.

After switching to the hardest compound, the C1, Norris tried to overtake his rival on the fast lane, but Max Verstappen firmly held his line. A move that “forced” Lando Norris into a less safe trajectory, with the clear risk of ending up on the grass at pit exit or, worse, in the barrier. All of that just to avoid lifting off the throttle slightly and tucking in behind Verstappen.

That episode did indeed occur and led to a light-hearted exchange between the two drivers in the cooldown room after the GP. While reviewing footage from the race, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris paused on the scene described above, with the Dutchman joking, “It’s a rather expensive lawn mower.” The playful remark referred to the McLaren MCL39 being used to mow the grass lining the pit lane acceleration zone. Max Verstappen continued the joke during the press conference as well.

“I think Lando noticed the grass wasn’t cut too well there… and thought he’d lend a hand.” A humorous exchange that keeps the battle alive between Max Verstappen and the two McLarens, as we look ahead to next week’s Bahrain GP.