Lando Norris, a British Formula One driver for McLaren, has sparked outrage on social media after making statements following the Canada Grand Prix, when he placed second only to three-time champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull).
Following the race, Norris told the media that the constructors’ championship battle between the Papaya team and Ferrari is close because “they have two drivers” who finish races or usually end up on the podium, a clear reference to Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), who has not performed well in recent races.
“At the moment, I believe it is between Ferrari and us. “At McLaren, we have two drivers who are up there, not making mistakes and getting almost everything out of the car every weekend,” said the young Briton, who recently won his first race in the category at the Miami Grand Prix.
However, Norris reinforced his criticism by noting that Verstappen is alone at the front of the grid and that “it’s better to have two cars instead of just one.” In addition to attacking the Mexican driver, who has recently renewed and earned the much-coveted second seat at Red Bull, McLaren’s CEO, Zak Brown, has made statements that have sparked controversy on social media.
“It’s unusual because there aren’t many other teams on the circuit who have something like that. So, for us, the focus is on what we can do versus Ferrari. “At the end of the day, I believe two is always better than one, as in Max’s case,” Norris said.
“Checo,” who had not advanced past Q1 in the previous two races, finished with a DNF (did not finish) in Montreal after slipping off at turn 6 of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit and being told to pit by Red Bull.
Max Verstappen now leads the drivers’ championship with 194 points, followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) with 138 and Norris with 131; “Checo” is fifth with 107. There are only 24 points between the Mexican and the Briton, so the leaderboard positions can yet change.
It is worth noting that Pérez had previously finished second in the drivers’ championship, whereas Norris has only finished sixth.
The next race on the Formula One schedule is Barcelona, which will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya from June 21 to June 23.