Lando Norris said Max Verstappen cost himself a better finishing position in the Miami Grand Prix with his aggressive defensive moves when the pair fought for position.
The McLaren driver showed his displeasure with his rival’s tactics by raising a middle finger at him while they fought for position during the race.
The pair had a near-miss immediately after the start when Norris tried to pass his rival around the outside of turn two. Verstappen oversteered briefly, Norris took to the run-off area and fell from second place to sixth.
Norris eventually got past Verstappen but had fallen too far behind Oscar Piastri to stand a chance of beating his team mate. He finished second while Verstappen fell to fourth behind George Russell.
“It’s never the best feeling, but the team have done an amazing job so I can’t fault them at all,” said Norris immediately after the race, which the McLaren pair finished half a minute ahead of their rivals.
“Good pit stops, great pace. We were up the road, so it was a good feeling. But Oscar drove well, Max put up a good fight as always, and I paid the price, but it’s the way it is.”
The close call between the pair at turn two is the latest in a series of incidents involving the two drivers who clashed several times when they fought for the championship last year.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
“If I don’t go for it people complain, if I go for it people complain, so you can’t win,” said Norris. “But it’s the way it is with Max, it’s ‘crash or don’t pass’.
“Unless you get it really right and you put him in the perfect position, then you can just about get there. But I paid the price for not doing a good enough job today. I’m still happy with second.”
Watching the turn two incident in the cooldown room after the race, Norris remarked he had to back out of the move as if the pair had collided he would have suffered a heavy impact with the barrier on the right.
Verstappen repeatedly frustrated Norris’s attempts to pass him later in the race, forcing him wide at turn one on one occasion. Norris raised his middle finger at his rival as they accelerated away from turn three.
Norris later passed Verstappen on the inside at turn 11, but both drivers went off. The stewards noted the incident but did not investigate it after Norris let Verstappen re-pass him at turn 17. Norris finally passed his rival for good at turn 11 on the next lap.
Speaking in the press conference after the race, Norris said Verstappen would have stood a chance of beating Russell to third if he hadn’t cost himself so much time trying to fight him.
“He’s fighting hard,” said Norris. “It’s up to him to do that. He’s ruined his own race. He’s not racing very smart. He probably could have finished third today and he didn’t because of that. He’s fighting hard as always expected but that’s the way it is.”
This article will be updated.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2025 Miami Grand Prix
Browse all 2025 Miami Grand Prix articles
News
