Asked if he was afraid that Max Verstappen could become a late contender for the F1 2025 championship battle, Lando Norris offered a sarcastic reply to say he was “very concerned” before shooting down the question.
The question came ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, where Verstappen managed to outperform both McLaren drivers for the third grand prix in a row.
Lando Norris unconcerned about Verstappen title challenge
Following a floor upgrade ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen looks set to become a potential title challenger as the 2025 Drivers’ Championship begins to wind down.
The reigning champion was able to secure back-to-back victories in Italy and Azerbaijan before finishing second at the Singapore Grand Prix — meaning that for three events in a row, Verstappen has outperformed the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
As such, Verstappen now sits 63 points behind leader Piastri and could overtake second-placed Norris, with their points gap sitting at 41.
Ask Lando Norris if he’s thinking about changing his priorities during the title fight, though, and you’re not set to get an affirmative response.
During the pre-race press conference for drivers ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris was asked if McLaren will consider prioritizing one driver over another as Verstappen begins to eat away at that points gap — and if he, as the lower-placed of the two drivers in the championship standings, was concerned he’d be sidelined in favor of his teammate.
“I’m very concerned,” Norris replied sarcastically. “Yeah. Very worried about it, and scared, frankly.
“So yeah, I was happy you asked that, actually….
“Yeah… No.”
McLaren has remained adamant that it will not change its approach to the championship; both Piastri and Norris are considered equals, and they’re allowed to settle that battle on track.
That being said, a change in approach for McLaren could be still to come. Speaking to media after Singapore, team principal Andrea Stella pointed out that McLaren has long since turned its attention to developing its F1 2026 machinery, whereas the likes of Red Bull are still introducing upgrades in 2025 designed to give them an immediate competitive edge.
“I think there’s a trend whereby we have stopped the development of the car now for quite some time, because we’ve been focusing entirely on 2026,” Stella explained.
“There were, if anything, little parts that we took to Monza, but otherwise we were just focusing on ’26 for a long time, while we have seen that some competitors kept taking some new upgrades to the trackside.
“Red Bull certainly is one of those.”
That does not mean that McLaren needs to change its approach immediately; however, if the likes of Verstappen begins threatening the team’s hold over the drivers’ title, there could come a time later in the 2025 season where McLaren could feel compelled to step in.
