Max Verstappen’s sharp reply to question over F1 racing approach: ‘Is that a problem?’

Max Verstappen responded sternly when asked about his racing approach after his lap-one incident with Lando Norris in Miami on Sunday.

Pole-sitter Verstappen battled with McLaren’s Norris from lights out, moving across to keep the lead with Norris taking his car off-track. Norris was unimpressed with Verstappen’s manoeuvre in his post-race comments, but the stewards did not take any action.

Verstappen finished fourth while Norris recovered from sixth to finish second, behind teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Yet when asked by Sky F1 about the lap-one clash with Norris, Verstappen simply responded: “All good, yeah.”

Questioned further on whether the Dutchman’s on-track tactics were “predictable or unpredictable to other drivers”, Verstappen’s response was sharp: “Why, is that a problem?”

Verstappen then stated “like everyone else”, when the interviewer clarified that the Red Bull driver was just trying to stay ahead and keep the lead.

Norris said after the race: “It is never the best feeling. Max put up a good fight, as always, and I paid the price.

“What can I say? If I don’t go for it, people complain and if I do go for it, people complain, too. But that is the way it is with Max. Crash or don’t pass.”

When asked about Red Bull’s pace compared to McLaren, Verstappen replied: “I try to do my best, we put ourselves in a good starting position.

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“And I tried to, of course, give it a good battle, have a bit of fun out there as well at the same time. But yeah, we couldn’t keep them behind.

“And then, yeah, the rest was just a little bit unlucky with the VSC [Virtual Safety Car]. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter a lot when you are P3 or P4.

“We are here, of course, to target a win. And we were very far from that today.”

Verstappen missed out on a podium after a VSC allowed Mercedes’ George Russell to pit and leapfrog the Dutchman.

Verstappen now trails Piastri by 32 points in the drivers’ standings ahead of the next race, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.