F1 News: Lando Norris Hilariously Lashes Out At Max Verstappen's Singapore GP Reprimand

Lando Norris criticises Max Verstappen's reprimand for impeding, calling for harsher penalties while humorously warning he might make himself "look stupid" by doing the same.

Ahead of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren's Lando Norris humorously criticised Max Verstappen for escaping with just a reprimand for impeding another driver during last week's Singapore GP qualifying. The candid McLaren driver asserted that harsher penalties should be in place for such actions.

Key Takeaways

• Lando Norris openly questions the leniency shown to Max Verstappen, who received only a reprimand for impeding another driver during the Singapore Grand Prix. Norris believes it should have been a grid penalty instead.
• Norris points out that drivers have a responsibility to check their mirrors and avoid blocking others, emphasising that many drivers "struggle to do that."
• In his usual hilarious manner, Norris concludes by joking that he might end up blocking someone this weekend, making himself "look stupid."

When asked by Adam Cooper of Motorsport.com about Max Verstappen receiving only a reprimand for impeding during the Singapore GP, Norris said:

"I don't want to say too much because I'll just create controversy. I think the blocking one on track should have been a penalty.

"He blocked someone: it’s not just down to the team. I know the team got the fine in the end of the day, but it should be down to the driver as well to look in his mirrors and see if someone's… you’ve got nothing else to do the whole lap but look in your mirrors and it seems like a lot of people struggle to do that."

Norris highlighted the impact of such actions on qualifying laps, stating:

"It ruins your lap, it ruins your Qualifying. It put Yuki out in Qualifying and he was P1 in Q1. Probably would have been P1 in Q3 if he went all the way. Just no one seems to care enough."

The McLaren driver didn't pull any punches, further adding: 

"It’s happened a lot this season, happened to me quite a few times, especially with certain teams – but it's also down to the driver to look in the mirror, like they got nothing else to do but hit the recharge button and look in your mirror and people seem to struggle to be able to do that in Formula 1, which is a surprise."

In a lighter note to conclude, Norris humorously warned, "But yeah, I'll probably block someone out this weekend and make myself look stupid."