Max Verstappen: “Norris said his McLaren is difficult to drive? He was joking, right?”. Max Verstappen responded with a joke to his rival’s statements.

Lando Norris complains about the McLaren
In the paddock of the Chinese Grand Prix, Lando Norris pointed out that despite being incredibly fast, the McLaren MCL39 was not exactly ideal for his driving style, describing his car as “difficult to drive.”

It was certainly an unexpected statement, given how easily the British driver managed to be competitive in both dry and wet conditions in Australia and how he kept Max Verstappen behind him at the end of the race despite having damage to the floor of his McLaren.

Max’s response
During the traditional Thursday media session in Shanghai, Verstappen was told about his British rival’s remark, to which he responded in his usual irreverent style, clearly surprised: “Which car was he talking about? His car? Are you sure he wasn’t joking?”

Becoming more serious, he then explained: “Their car is very versatile and fast on every type of circuit. But defining the advantage they have is still difficult.” Verstappen also commented on Helmut Marko’s statement, in which he expressed confidence that Red Bull could close the gap to McLaren within five races: “Knowing something like that is impossible.”

Closing remarks on the FIA regulations introduced to counteract the mini-DRS: “I don’t want to think about it too much. You can make assumptions, but right now I’m just focused on what we are doing with the team.” And on the fines for swearing: “People expect me to be the first to curse, but that won’t be the case. I want to stay zen.”