Verstappen “ruined his own race” and is “not racing smart”

Lando Norris has slammed Max Verstappen’s driving during the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, accusing the Dutchman of “ruining his own race” and “not racing very smart”.

The two tangled on the first lap in a battle that dropped Norris to sixth before fighting back to come home in second place.

Verstappen meanwhile crossed the line a whopping 40 seconds behind race winner Oscar Piastri after hurting his overall race through his desperate defending.

Norris said: “[Max was] fighting hard. It’s up to him to do that. He’s ruined his own race. He’s not racing very smart.”

Norris later passed Verstappen but in a move that saw both drivers go off track but was not investigated by the stewards.

Norris now trails Piastri by 16 points in the drivers’ championship after the Aussie took his third win in a row, and says he did all he could to try and catch his team-mate, pushing to the end.

He explained: “I gave it a good shot when I got into second place and there was a long way to go, I think still 25 or 30 laps at that point.

“I only probably stopped pushing really in the last four or five laps, but the gap went from like almost 10 [seconds] to four or three almost, so I did all I could.

“I tried the whole race until the very end so I kept belief during the whole race, but Oscar’s driving. He’s quick to catch but it’s always pretty much going to be impossible, but I gave it a good shot. I almost got there, just not enough laps.”