Max Verstappen takes a subtle shot at Lando Norris for compromising his fastest lap in F1 Singapore GP qualifying

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen has taken a subtle shot at McLaren's Lando Norris post Singapore Grand Prix qualifying. Verstappen feels that his final Q3 lap was a bit compromised because of Norris 'cruising' ahead of him.

At the end of the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix qualifying session, Max Verstappen finds himself in P2 behind Mercedes' George Russell. The Brit managed a scintillating time of 1:29.158 whereas Verstappen fell short by an extremely small margin of +0.212s.

Following this, the four-time world champion has added the following in reference to Lando Norris's late Q3 antics:

"It could have been close for pole - but it is hard when there is a car just cruising two seconds in front. It has been noted. Not Oscar."

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Max Verstappen: It could have been close for pole - but it is hard when there is a car just cruising two seconds in front. It has been noted. Not Oscar. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Other than George Russell and Max Verstappen ending up in P1 and P2, the rest of the top 10 is comprised of Oscar Piastri (P3), Kimi Antonelli (P4), Lando Norris (P5), Lewis Hamilton (P6), Charles Leclerc (P7), Isack Hadjar (P8), Oliver Bearman (P9), and Fernando Alonso (P10).

In recent times, Max Verstappen has shown strong pace. He has won a few races consecutively, and some believe that he could be back in the drivers' championship picture. As things stand, Verstappen is in third place with 255 points, in comparison to Lando Norris (P2) and Oscar Piastri's (P1) 299 and 324.

Max Verstappen was 'quite satisfied' post Friday running at Singapore GP

F1 Grand Prix Of Singapore - Getty

While Max Verstappen has indirectly referenced Lando Norris for his Q3 antics in Singapore GP qualifying, the former was pleased with how the RB21 performed during Friday's running. Since the last few races, the car has performed well, and this has helped Verstappen in challenging for victories.

Following the end of Free Practice 2 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the Dutchman sounded optimistic and added the following via F1:

"It was not too bad. I think FP1 started quite nicely, we were just getting up to speed with things but the car was not too bad. A bit like the last two weekends where there were no major problems and then in FP2, a few things that we tried, some were good so we just need to try and optimise that a bit more. Overall and in general, quite satisfied but definitely need a bit more pace to fight up at the front tomorrow."

With Max Verstappen starting tomorrow's 2025 Singapore Grand Prix from P2 ahead of title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, he has a good opportunity to close the gap in the standings.

From Verstappen's point of view, the objective for him will be to overtake George Russell as soon as possible in tomorrow's Singapore GP and then control the race from the front.