Lando Norris Labels Doubters of Verstappen’s Comeback ‘Stupid’ After Red Bull’s Qualifying Triumph

Lando Norris believes it was foolish for anyone to question Max Verstappen and Red Bull's capacity to make a comeback during qualifying.

Lando Norris believes that anyone questioning Max Verstappen and Red Bull's ability to improve their performance in time for the qualifying round is somewhat foolish.

Verstappen and his team, Red Bull, faced significant challenges at the onset of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with the three-time world champion experiencing difficulties with his RB20 vehicle during both of Friday's practice rounds and again during the last practice session on Saturday morning.

Despite not leading in any of the preliminary sessions, the Dutch driver made a significant comeback during the crucial qualifying round, surpassing both McLaren competitors, Oscar Piastri and Norris, to secure an eighth successive pole position, equaling the record.

"Despite Max's challenging weekend, I believe it's foolish to question Red Bull or his ability to come back strong in qualifying," Norris, who narrowly missed pole position by 0.091 seconds and secured third place, commented.

"I genuinely anticipated his return to form, so it's frustrating to be edged out by him in qualifying once more. However, we're on his heels, and I believe as a team, we're content."

"Each of us has shown our capabilities. If we can maintain our momentum and replicate the fast pace we demonstrated yesterday and in Miami, I believe we're set for a successful race."

When questioned about how he views this pole position in relation to his previous ones, Verstappen responded, "Certainly, over the past few years, it stands out as one of the finest for me, mainly because it's been some time since I've felt we were this much in the lead."

"Referring to Singapore, where we had an entire weekend off, it was a dreadful experience. However, this time, despite starting off on the wrong foot, we were able to make a significant comeback. It's been at least five or six years, to my recollection, since we've been able to make such a turnaround."

"We persisted with our efforts," he added. "Up until this morning, things were still off. We just kept striving to enhance the car's stability, given that it was somewhat unstable yesterday and into today.

"I genuinely approached the qualifying round thinking, 'achieving a top-five position would satisfy me given how challenging this weekend has been'. Essentially, we had no benchmark for performance entering the qualifying."

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