Formula One F1 - Brazilian Grand Prix - Jose Carlos Pace Circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil - November 4, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the sprint race with second placed McLaren's Lando Norris REUTERS/Carla Carniel
DOHA (Reuters) - Lando Norris has suggested Max Verstappen consider a career in comedy after the quadruple world champion claimed he would have also won this season's Formula One title if driving a McLaren or a Ferrari instead of a Red Bull.
Verstappen told Dutch reporters after clinching his fourth successive crown in Las Vegas last Saturday that he would have wrapped it up a lot sooner in Norris's McLaren.
He said it would have been "pretty much the same" in a Ferrari but the Mercedes car "would have been trickier".
"He should start doing comedy or something," said Norris, Verstappen's closest title rival, when asked about the comments ahead of this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
"He can say whatever he wants. Of course I completely disagree, as I would.
"He's good, but yeah. It's not true."
Verstappen has won eight grands prix this season but McLaren lead the constructors' championship with a 24 points advantage over Ferrari. Red Bull are third.
All four top teams have finished one-two this season, Mercedes doing so in the chilly Las Vegas conditions with a car that has generally proved a handful for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in warmer temperatures.
While Norris has had a competitive team mate in Australian Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have been evenly matched, Red Bull have relied on Verstappen while Mexican Sergio Perez has struggled.
Norris recognised there were pros and cons in that for Verstappen.
"He has to do all of his work on his own, which is hats off to him," he said. "He doesn't have someone who is pushing him. He doesn't have someone who's trying other things with the car.
"The data's not as valuable when you don't have someone who's performing at the same level.
"There's a lot of things that Max can do that are phenomenal. Driving at the level he does consistently without a team mate that can push him in any way certainly makes his life harder," added the Briton.
"But at the same time there's no pressure. He doesn't have to deal with trying to beat anyone in his own team. That comes with some comfort."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
