Norris RETALIATES with defiant Verstappen championship claim

Lando Norris has suggested that Max Verstappen would not have won the world championship if faced with the same circumstances that the British star had been handed.

The pair, while friends off-track, have been embroiled in a fierce battle for the championship throughout 2024, with Norris attempting a stunning comeback after Verstappen had won four of the first five grands prix this season.

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Despite Red Bull's struggles as a team for large segments of the season, with Verstappen not being able to win a race for five months, Norris was not able to make a big enough dent in Verstappen's lead, and the Dutchman finally sealed his fourth consecutive title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Verstappen's brilliant victory at the Brazilian GP ahead of the race in Sin City all but ended Norris' challenge, extending the gap between the championship protagonists to 62 points.

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Would Verstappen have won title in a McLaren?

While Verstappen has led the championship for the entirety of the 2024 season, it has been anything but plain sailing for the 62-time race winner.

Red Bull's performance has been superseded by McLaren, Ferrari and, at times, Mercedes throughout this year, with Red Bull dropping to third in the constructors' championship, and looking highly unlikely to retain their championship double earned in 2022 and 2023.

However, a mixture of mistakes from Norris and his McLaren team throughout 2024 have meant that the Brit was not able to mount a serious challenge to Verstappen's drivers' championship crown, with the Dutchman still able to win with two races to spare.

Now, hitting back at his critics, Norris has suggested that Verstappen would not have won the championship if the Dutchman had been dealt the same cards as he had in a McLaren.

Norris' defiant statement over Verstappen's championship victory was made ahead of the Las Vegas GP, where the Red Bull star claimed he could've won the title much faster at the wheel of the papaya machinery.

"No, definitely not," the Briton told The Telegraph when asked if Verstappen would have won in a McLaren.

"No one ever in the history of Formula One has come back from the size of deficit I had. No one. Ever. And there have been much bigger swings of performance of cars in the past than there has been now.

"The advantage they [Red Bull] had in the beginning of the season over everyone was way more than we’ve had."

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