Lando Norris retracts snide Max Verstappen 'all luck and no talent' comment

Lando Norris has retracted his “all luck and no talent” remark towards Max Verstappen following the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris delivered his snide comment after a hammer blow in the 2024 F1 title race in Brazil.

Verstappen benefitted from the timing of the red flag as he won the race at Interlagos from 17th on the grid.

Conversely, having started on pole position, Norris only finished sixth after running wide on two separate occasions.

After the race, Norris hit out at the red flag rule.

“You can change the tyres under the red flag,” Norris told F1 TV. “It’s what the others did.

“Just unlucky. Unfortunate, sometimes it goes your way. Nothing we did wrong. I don’t care what people say.

“Staying out wasn’t the right thing to do. It shouldn’t have been red-flagged and there was the crash in the end which caused the red.

“That’s life sometimes. You take a gamble, it’s paid off for them. It’s not talent, it’s just luck. A bit unlucky that’s all.”

After collecting his trophy at the FIA prize gala on Friday for finishing second in the F1 drivers' championship, Norris addressed his comment after it was shown during a montage.

“First of all, I retract that comment back there where I said it was all luck and no talent,” Norris said.

“You know how the media change things.”

Norris needs to “step it up”

Norris acknowledged the need to “step it up” if he’s going to topple Verstappen in 2025.

“Congratulations to Max,” Norris added. “What he did this year, what he did in Brazil of course, was incredible, so I’m the first one to acknowledge such a thing when I’m the one going up against him.

“It was a tough season, of course. I tried to give my best and put up the best battle that I could, but this year it was not enough. At the same time, sometimes I'm happy to finish second to Max because I think it’s quite an achievement to do a lot better than that.

“So a wonderful year for myself. A lot of achievements, a lot of improvements, from myself but I also know I need to step it up and do more than I did this year. So I’m excited to look forward to next year and try and do the same.”