Lando Norris made one Singapore GP comment that ‘went down like cyanide’ in Max Verstappen’s camp

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McLaren driver Lando Norris must have been having flashbacks to last season during the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lando Norris spent plenty of time last year staring at the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull as the Dutchman went on to win his fourth drivers’ championship.

A disappointing qualifying for McLaren at the Singapore Grand Prix meant Norris and Oscar Piastri were on the back foot against their championship rival on Sunday.

However, a controversial move from Norris saw him leapfrog Piastri through the opening corners, while also making minimal contact with the back of Verstappen’s car.

There was very little action for the rest of the race, with Norris unable to find a way past the 28-year-old even when negotiating groups of lapped traffic.

The pair joined George Russell on the podium, but it turns out that things weren’t as positive as they seemed from the outside between the McLaren and Red Bull drivers.

One comment that Norris made about Verstappen particularly irked the Dutchman’s camp behind the scenes.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris’ comment on Max Verstappen’s racing DNA upset the Red Bull driver’s camp

A report from the Daily Mail has shared more details about the relationship between Norris and Verstappen.

Verstappen and Norris’ friendship was strained by their championship fight last season, having previously been very close.

It’s something that McLaren are currently juggling between Norris and Piastri as they try to keep things cordial within the team.

Piastri may be wondering if he’s on his own at this stage after the team denied his request to investigate their clash further, and a slow pit stop topped off another tough weekend.

However, the report from the Daily Mail suggests that Norris and Verstappen ‘have fallen out of friendship’ recently, although a reason isn’t given as to why.

On top of this, Norris’ comment that Verstappen has ‘perfect-for-F1 genes’ because both of his parents were racing drivers, ‘went down like cyanide’ within the 28-year-old’s camp.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Lando Norris admits faultless Max Verstappen is the reason he couldn’t catch George Russell

Verstappen made it clear he wasn’t happy with Norris after blaming him for his final run in qualifying being ruined due to his dirty air.

The McLaren driver was a long way down the road, and when he closed in on Verstappen during the race, he couldn’t help but have a cheeky dig at his rival when he also complained about the ‘dirty air’ his Red Bull was giving off.

After the race in his post-race press conference, Norris admitted Verstappen simply didn’t make a mistake for him to capitalise on and explained: “I think more just the race pace was strong, like it always is, and we just weren’t good enough yesterday [in qualifying].

“I think we still need to understand… I think we understand why, but if we were to re-run qualifying now, what would we really do differently? I don’t think we have maybe the best or clearest picture, and that’s the only reason we couldn’t win today.

“But the pace was, I think, also the best out there. It didn’t matter — I couldn’t get past Max. He didn’t make any mistakes, and it’s too difficult to follow here.

“So, a bit of a shame, but I did what I could. And even though I was feeling good with the car, and I felt like I could get past Max, I’d be able to try and have a crack at catching George, and I think I would. It’s just too difficult to follow and too difficult to overtake.”