"Are you sure he wasn't joking?": Max Verstappen makes his feelings known about Lando Norris' claim that McLaren was a difficult car

Max Verstappen has reacted to the words of Lando Norris after the McLaren driver claimed the MCL39 challenger was difficult to drive. The British driver claimed victory at the inaugural race of the 2025 season at the Australian Grand Prix.

The pair, who were locked in what for some time appeared to be a championship battle in 2024, have kicked off the current season on the same note, with both drivers finishing first and second at the Albert Park race.

However, despite McLaren’s win at the season opener, conversations had begun to emerge about the true pace of their car— with many suggesting that the actual performance of the papaya team could be unveiled at the Chinese Grand Prix, which boasts a circuit with traditional long straights and tricky corners.

Nonetheless, responding to these claims about what the real pace of the MCL39 challenger could be, Lando Norris, in his interaction with the media, stated that despite its strong showing at the Australian Grand Prix, the car remained "difficult to drive".

As quoted by De Telegraaf, the 25-year-old stated:

"Overall, I can't complain. Our car is performing well, but it is still extremely difficult to drive," Norris said.

"It still doesn't suit my driving style at all. But I think I've almost reached the point where I just accept that you can't have a perfect car that fits seamlessly with your own style."

Verstappen, who was asked about this remark by Norris during his media session, suggested that the McLaren driver might have been joking when sharing his thoughts on the car.

"Which car was he talking about, his own car? Are you sure he wasn't joking? McLaren is very strong; I have a lot of respect for what they have done there—last season and now again.

That car is very versatile, fast on every type of circuit. But how big the gap is, is still difficult to say. It is also difficult to compare different scenarios. Last year, I was also complaining about my car at the beginning, but then we still won," he said, as quoted by the Dutch news media outlet.

It is largely expected that the true pace of every car on the 2025 grid will be revealed at the Chinese Grand Prix, especially with the weather forecast predicting it to be a dry race. Whether McLaren truly has a huge gap over the rest of the grid, as many have suggested, will be determined at the Shanghai event.

Max Verstappen speaks on Red Bull’s performance ahead of Chinese GP

Max Verstappen also touched on what could be expected from the Red Bull team during the Chinese Grand Prix. The Milton Keynes-based outfit recorded double podium finishes during the 2024 edition of the race.

However, ahead of this year’s edition, Max Verstappen has expressed little optimism, especially off the back of the unpredictability the RB cars have shown in recent times.

The four-time world champion, touching on what to expect, was quoted by Formula One's official website as saying:

"[There are] a lot of unknowns, I would say. Of course, this is quite a different layout, and we have different, new tarmac here now.

"It’s a Sprint weekend, so not a lot of time to adapt, so we will have to see how the car is going to respond to that. I hope that it will be in a good window, and then we will try to do the best job we can."

Quizzed further about Red Bull’s pace in comparison to McLaren, Verstappen continued:

"I think it will be tough in general because they are very fast, very competitive, very all-round. But at the end of the day, I don’t really think about that too much."

Verstappen, on the charge for his fifth consecutive drivers’ title, will hope to return to the top step of the podium at the end of the Shanghai event.