Max Verstappen’s immediate reaction to the drama between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Italian Grand Prix has gone viral and left viewers stunned with what he said. The incident took place after Norris pitted on lap 47 to replace his tyres with new soft ones.
A normal pit stop that went as expected would have seen him emerge from the temporary stop still comfortably ahead of his teammate Piastri. Unfortunately for Norris, the McLaren team were slow tightening the left front tyre once it had been replaced and the 25-year-old came out of the pit now two seconds behind Piastri.
The McLaren team then instructed the 24-year-old to let Norris pass him, then telling him he could race his teammate to the end after he did so. During the incident, Verstappen was being kept informed and updated about what was going on and his response was heard by fans and left them stunned.
Verstappen Laughed at McLaren
After hearing that Piastri had overtaken Norris due to the mishap in the pits by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, over the team radio, Verstappen, who was comfortably ahead in first place, laughed at McLaren and issued a hilarious response. As quoted by Sports Bible, he said:
“Haha, just because he had a slow stop?”
Lambiase replied, saying: “It’s not our business, but I guess it keeps it fair between the drivers in terms of the championship.”
Fans have had a field day with his comments, claiming the star was ‘getting his digs in’, while others questioned McLaren’s behaviour and the decision to let Norris overtake Piastri after their mishaps, saying the team ‘hated’ the Australian.
Ultimately, Norris pulled ahead of his teammate in the end and without fresh tyres, Piastri couldn’t quite keep up with him. Speaking post-race to F1TV, the Australian said: “It was a struggle through the first half of the race and when the tyres went away, it got better. We went so long that the soft seemed like a good tyre to put on. We were just staying out for a safety car, which didn’t happen, but eventually Max got into our pit window so there wasn’t much point staying out much longer.
“Yeah… the incident at the end, but it’s okay. All in all, there’s a lot of things to learn from this weekend. Happy going forwards, and we’ll try and be strong next race.”
His teammate also spoke about the incident afterwards. He said: “I don’t know. I felt like I was there for quite a long time. Yeah, I guess every now and then we make mistakes as a team. And today was one of them.
“I did everything I could today, I couldn’t do a lot more. We had a good race, and Max came out on top and deserved it.”
About Author
You may also like
-
Michael Carrick opens up on Manchester United future
-
What Happens If Arsenal and Man City Finish on the Same Points
-
Kompany targets Osimhen as Kane successor, but Man United and PSG not keen
-
Christian Falk reveals Bayern Munich stance on Michael Olise amid Liverpool interest
-
Guessand Needs Five More G/A for Permanent Move