‘You better watch out’ – Lando Norris warned over Max Verstappen threat

As Lando Norris returns to the track for round 19 of the title fight, he has been warned to watch out for Max Verstappen after irking the Red Bull driver during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris will line up at the Circuit of The Americas for Saturday’s Sprint trailing his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 22 points with Verstappen a further 41 points off the pace. While the Red Bull driver is a long shot in the title race, he could yet be the kingmaker – and he could have it in for Norris.

Verstappen v Norris: What you need to know

⦁ Max Verstappen’s ‘mate’ Lando Norris was called out in Singapore quali after ruining lap
⦁ Lando Norris warned Verstappen will ‘remember it’ and pay him back
⦁ Max Verstappen could determine which McLaren driver wins the title

Last time out at the Marina Bay circuit, Norris annoyed Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase as the resurgent Red Bull went for pole position.

The 28-year-old lost out to George Russell by 0.182s, ‘GP’ blaming a slow-moving Norris, who was pitting, for putting dirty air on the nose of the RB21.

“You can thank your mate for that. Hard luck,” said Verstappen’s long-time race engineer.

Verstappen, speaking immediately after qualifying, sounded an ominous warning to his “mate”, although Norris wasn’t actually mentioned by name.

“That’s what happens when there’s a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front,” he said.

“That’s noted. It will be remembered as well.”

Asked who he was referring to, Verstappen replied: “Not Oscar!”

Q: I believe there might have been a mistake in that final sector?

Max: “Yeah, that’s what happens when a car in front of you is cruising 2 seconds ahead, so thats noted, will be remembered aswell.”

Q: Who was that?

Max: “Not Oscar!”

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— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) October 4, 2025

He went on to add: “So that was a bit of a shame, otherwise I think it could have been close for pole.

“In qualifying, you always try to leave gaps of six or seven seconds because you want no disturbance.

“You need every kind of clean air that you can have on a Q3 lap, especially because you’re fully on the limit with braking and everything. And I lost a bit of downforce with that. So I went straight on.”

A day later, Verstappen held off Norris at the start of the grand prix to run second ahead of the Briton as they finished second and third behind Russell.

How will Max Verstappen react to Lando Norris?

While most of the headlines since Singapore have been about McLaren and its imploding papaya regulations, Norris has been warned he’ll have more than just Piastri to watch out for as Formula 1 returns to action at the Circuit of The Americas for round 19 of the season, the United States Grand Prix.

He’ll also have to keep an eye on Verstappen, who won’t have forgotten that Singapore slight.

“They are good friends and they tend to separate it well,” Doornbos told The Pit Talk podcast.

“I don’t think they flew back on the same plane now from Singapore, but still, in Monaco they see each other and they keep private and business separated.

“If you look at the business side, what Lando did, driving slow after he finished his qualifying run — Max was the last one to pass the chequered flag to finish his quali effort in Q3.

“Then, to have Lando in front of you two seconds, it’s all about dirty air.

“If you have the dirty air behind another car, you feel it. And you have less downforce, which means you’re going to lock the brake. And in qualifying, it’s all about the last few tenths here, a few hundredths maybe.

“Max felt straight away, he saw the papaya car and he said, ‘Okay, this is Lando. He basically did this on purpose and I will remember it’.

“He said, ‘Noted and remembered,’ which means next time Lando’s out qualifying, you better watch out.”

What does this mean for Lando Norris in the title fight?

Never mind Piastri, Norris is going to need to keep half an eye on Verstappen on Friday as the drivers take to the Austin track for Sprint qualifying.

Although Verstappen and the McLaren driver are good mates off the track, Verstappen has proven time and again that, on it, there are no friendships.

He didn’t hold back at all last season against Norris in Austria, even colliding with the Briton rather than giving up position, while there were more on-track antics in Austin and Mexico.

This season their battles have been less furious as McLaren has stormed ahead in the championship races, with Monza the notable standout where Verstappen crowded Norris onto the grass off the line before holding onto the lead by cutting the first chicane.

There may not have been contact, but it was a clear indication that Verstappen isn’t willing to help his “mate” to the World title. And especially not after Singapore.

The Dutchman could decide who is king in this year’s title fight by taking points off either Piastri or Norris in the final six races of the season, and as he has said himself, he has “nothing to lose”.

41 points ahead of Verstappen, Norris not only needs to keep one eye on the battle ahead but also the challenge from behind.

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