Lando Norris “a little bit on edge” after Max Verstappen’s McLaren claim

Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby has suggested that Max Verstappen’s comment following the Japanese Grand Prix might have unsettled Lando Norris.

Verstappen returned to winning ways at Suzuka, winning the race from pole position.

It means there’s just one point between Norris and Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ standings heading into Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

After the race, Verstappen made a bold claim that if he was driving a McLaren during the race in Japan “then you wouldn’t have seen me”.

Norris responded to that on Thursday in Bahrain, stating: “I have a lot of respect for Max, but I also know some things are not true. He can come and test our car any day that he wants, and I’ll be excited to see the disappointment on his face after he gets out.”

After hearing his reaction to Friday practice, Lazenby felt that Norris had been “a little bit on edge” this weekend.

“I think we’re going to learn so much about some of these drivers that have never been involved in championship battles from the start of the season,” Lazenby said.

“Already this weekend, I sense Lando has been a little bit on edge. I wonder if Max’s comments about if I’d been in that McLaren at Suzuka I would have sped away into the distance got into his skin.

“I wonder if the fact if Oscar keeps saying we will never know if I got ahead of him would I have been able to challenge Max would have irked him as well.”

Sky Sports pundit Naomi Schiff feels that Norris has been “a little bit defensive” due to Verstappen’ comment.

“I don’t think Max’s comments were necessarily there to go for a poke at Lando but indirectly that’s what they’ve done,” she said.

“It felt a little bit defensive after he heard those comments from Max. I understand Lando. He’s been in this team for a long time. He’s finally got an opportunity where he’s got a car that he can compete with and then Oscar’s come in and make it harder for him.

“He’s not just peacefully marching on - he’s got Oscar at his heels. It’s frustrating and irritating as a driver. At the same time it pushes them to deliver better results. It’s healthy for the team.”

Norris: “Everything feels dreadful”

McLaren enjoyed a dominant showing in second practice, with Oscar Piastri leading Norris at the top of the timesheets.

They were around 0.5s quicker than third-placed George Russell, highlighting McLaren’s clear advantage this weekend.

Despite their impressive times, Norris claimed that ‘everything felt dreadful’.

“This was horrendous. A difficult day. Re-adapting back to the reality of Bahrain,” he explained.

“The difficulties of Bahrain which will make it exciting on Sunday because the degradation was incredible compared to the test.

“Weird day, for sure. Everything feels dreadful but I think relatively our pace was still in a reasonable place. I think a reasonable Friday.”