Lando Norris refutes Max Verstappen’s claim that he could win the championship in McLaren

The 2024 Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen claimed that he could win the championship in McLaren. However, in a recent interview with the Telegraph, Lando Norris refuted Verstappen's claim.

Although McLaren lagged pace at the start of the 2024 season, the iconic British manufacturer saw a massive turnaround after implementing crucial upgrades ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. These Aero changes allowed McLaren's MCL38 race car to eclipse its competitors, Red Bull Racing's RB20 and Ferrari's SF-24 in terms of overall performance. This allowed Norris to reduce the gap to Verstappen in the Drivers' championship.

Despite the performance advantage, Verstappen's consistency throughout the season allowed him to clinch his fourth career championship title this year in Las Vegas. During the post-race interview, the Red Bull driver claimed he could have won the title earlier in McLaren.

However, the Dutchman's claim was refuted by Norris in an interview with the UK-based publication Telegraph.

"No, definitely not. I mean, 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," he said.

Norris' statement was shared on X by a Red Bull Racing fan page. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Lando Norris on the suggestion that Max would have won the championship in the McLaren"

With two races remaining in the 2024 season, Norris will likely be focused on helping McLaren extend the lead in the Constructors' championship.

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"Feels like yesterday we took this pic in karting" - Lando Norris congratulated Max Verstappen for his fourth championship with a throwback picture of the duo

Lando Norris lost the championship battle to Max Verstappen in Las Vegas. The young Brit congratulated the four-time world champion with a throwback picture of the two from their karting days on Instagram.

"Congrats on the 4th title in a row mate, awesome drive this year. Was fun fighting you for it. Feels like yesterday we took this pic in karting 😂" Norris wrote in the caption.

Here's a look at the post:

With Verstappen finishing ahead of Norris in Las Vegas, the former managed to increase the gap in the driver's table to 63 points, thereby making it mathematically impossible for the latter to mount any challenge.

Verstappen has become the sixth driver in Formula 1 to win four driver's titles, after Lewis Hamilton (seven titles), Michael Schumacher (seven titles), Juan Manuel Fangio (five titles), Alain Prost (four titles) and Sebastian Vettel (four titles). He is also the second Red Bull driver to win four consecutive championships.