Lando Norris Hits out at Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ‘Underdog’ Label After Dutchman’s Azerbaijan GP win

Lando Norris made a shocking claim that Red Bull and Max Verstappen were quick since the beginning of the entire season.

Lando Norris Hits out at Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ‘Underdog’ Label After Dutchman’s Azerbaijan GP win

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

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Max Verstappen shocked the paddock and achieved a stellar victory at the Azerbaijan GP despite looking slow at the beginning of the race weekend. Red Bull’s performance has seemed to improve after coming back from the summer break. However, Verstappen and Co. weren’t so confident heading into the weekend before achieving the dominant race win. Now, Lando Norris has fired shots at people discounting the Austrian constructor and their pace in the 2025 season.

Lando Norris seemed strong from the get-go and had a great shot at the pole position and the race win. However, a chaotic qualifying session and mediocre race pace caused Norris to only finish in P7, much farther from Max Verstappen‘s winning position. Verstappen achieved a grand slam victory at the Azerbaijan GP and left McLaren in the dust in Baku.

Following Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s dominant outing in Baku, Lando Norris weighed in on the matter. Norris asserted that there weren’t many races where Milton Keynes and Verstappen so slow on track. As such, the 25-year-old insisted that people needed to stop being surprised when the Dutchman puts forth a dominant performance at any given race weekend.

It’s not often that they’re slow, so I think people need to stop being so surprised that they’re quick.

Lando Norris said, as reported by GPblog

Lando Norris recalled that Max Verstappen was winning races even at the beginning of the year. The Briton pointed out that Verstappen could have even won the season opener in Australia this year after barely missing out the win by 0.8 seconds. Moreover, Norris highlighted that the 27-year-old could’ve even won the second round and so on, which clearly indicated that they weren’t slow in terms of pace. The 25-year-old made a shocking claim that Red Bull and Co. were quick for the entirety of the season.

Max was winning races already at the beginning of the year. He could have won round one. I think he was pretty close to winning round two in the sprint or something. The whole season, they’ve been quick.

Lando Norris added

Max Verstappen will ‘make life hard’ for Lando Norris in coming races

The 2025 season still has seven races to go until completion and Max Verstappen’s Azerbaijan GP win has brought the title standings even closer. The Dutchman is currently 69 points adrift of the title lead to Oscar Piastri. Verstappen is also just 44 points away from Lando Norris for the runner-up position. Hence, with the upcoming races seemingly being favorable for Red Bull, Norris makes a shocking confession.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris explained that Red Bull had been good the entire season, and the upgrades in Monza helped them become even faster. As such, it wasn’t a surprise that they were now a strong contender for race wins and the driver’s title. Norris emphasized that he expected nothing less from Red Bull and Max Verstappen, and the former raised surety over them making McLaren’s life hard in the final half of the season.

The Red Bulls have been good. They brought some upgrades to Monza, which seems to have helped them improve even more. So not a surprise. I think we know that they’re an incredibly strong team and one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1. So we expect nothing less. They’re going to make our life difficult, I think, for the rest of the season.

Lando Norris noted

Max Verstappen had previously written of his chances in the driver’s title, noting that his results did not matter anymore. However, Oscar Piastri’s shock DNF in Baku, and Lando Norris’ mediocre P7 finish has opened up the possibility once again. Now, the Dutchman will leave no stone unturned and give it his all in the final races to have a realistic shot at the championship.

Also Read: Max Verstappen Breaks Silence on 2025 Title Chances After Azerbaijan GP Win