Lando Norris has downplayed the clash he had with Max Verstappen on the pit exit during today’s Japanese Grand Prix, describing it as “simply racing.”
Verstappen took the win at the Suzuka track as Red Bull celebrated its ending partnership with Honda, making this his first victory of the 2025 season. The Dutchman crossed the line ahead of McLaren drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri.
It was a sedate race, but a moment following the pitstops of Verstappen and Norris had fans momentarily on the edge of their seats as the drivers ran beside each other on the pit exit, with Norris losing traction as he ran his right tyres over the grass. The standings leader got squirrelly as he struggled with traction and lost some time to his rival.
As the two drivers argued who was at fault over the radio with their engineers, the post-race interview with the Briton saw him downplay the tussle.
“It’s racing, I think. He was still ahead, it kind of squeezes into one, and Max is the last guy I expect to give me any space… in a good way, in a racing way. So, nothing more than that,” Norris reflected.
Initially, the driver argued that Verstappen had “forced me off,” while Verstappen told his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, that “Norris pressed his pit limiter off too early, there’s no way that was legal.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Stewards confirmed soon after that no further action would be taken, putting this to bed quickly.
“I guess I just lost out yesterday,” Norris said. “Max drove a good race today, no mistakes. The pace was too similar today to do anything more. Long race, a lot of pushing.
“It was a flat-out race from start to finish, so tough, but just not enough today, nothing special that we had that we could get Max on. They were quick and no mistakes, so he deserved it.”
McLaren didn’t pull off the perfect strategy today, with the undercut on the circuit not being overly powerful. Norris will continue the triple header hoping to improve.
“I think it’s still been a very good weekend,” he said. “Obviously, we didn’t get the positions that we wanted. We’re fighting for a win every weekend, but they deserved it. Both Red Bull and Max deserved it this weekend.
“They’re quick, they’ve been catching up, they’ve obviously made some improvements, and as a team, we didn’t have enough this weekend. So we’re going to have to work harder for the next one.”
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