Martin Brundle disappointed in Lando Norris as he falls into Max Verstappen’s ‘clever’ trap at Bahrain Grand Prix

Lando Norris leads Max Verstappen by just one point heading into this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The anticipated rematch is coming to pass after their 2024 title fight.

Last year, Norris tried to chase down Verstappen after the Dutchman built a commanding early lead. McLaren clearly overtook Red Bull in the pecking order but he couldn’t make decisive inroads.

Verstappen doesn’t have that car advantage at the start of 2025. In fact, McLaren have proven that they have the quickest car at this stage.

But the reigning world champion’s skills came to the fore in Japan last time out as he produced one of the greatest pole laps of his career. He then held off the McLaren duo in a closely contested but largely uneventful battle.

The only moment of note came on the pit exit. Franz Tost says Verstappen reminded Norris he’s world champion by holding his line as his rival took to the grass.

Martin Brundle says Lando Norris ‘shouldn’t have bitten’ after Max Verstappen McLaren dig

Speaking after his Japan win, Verstappen said ‘you wouldn’t have seen me’ if he was driving the McLaren. Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle called it a ‘twofold’ ploy.

On one level, he was trying to motivate Red Bull by underlining the performance deficit. On another, he was trying to rattle his McLaren rivals, suggesting they failed to reach their car’s potential.

Norris fired back during media day at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He’s adamant that Verstappen would be disappointed if he had the chance to drive the MCL39.

Brundle fears that he suffered a psychological defeat after taking what he saw as bait.

“Was he firing it at the team or the McLaren drivers?” host Simon Lazenby asked.

“Both,” Brundle replied. “It was twofold. It was to give his team a hurry-up and to poke the two McLaren drivers. Direct hit, because they both went on the defensive.

“Risky strategy, because what Max is saying there to the 1,500 people back at base who’ve just given him a race-winning car is ‘your car’s not very good’.

“That can motivate them, but both McLaren drivers – certainly Lando there – said a bit the same thing about his car, ‘have a go in it, you’ll be disappointed Max’.

“They shouldn’t have bitten on that one. It was quite clever psychology from Max.”

Oscar Piastri picks 2025 title favourite – Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen

Jacques Villeneuve wants Norris to take charge of his team in the same manner as Verstappen. He feels the five-time race-winner can be too passive behind the wheel at times.

McLaren have come under fire for their strategy, having pitted Norris on the same lap as the leader (hence the aforementioned incident). They arguably missed an opportunity to undercut and apply more pressure.

Sitting in third, Oscar Piastri suggested he could catch Verstappen over the radio if McLaren swapped. But the team continued their cautious approach.

In an interview this week, Piastri labelled Norris the title favourite. As the leader, he says his teammate objectively has the best chance of winning it from here.