Max Verstappen tells Lando Norris where he's failing as response to Brit's jab says it all

Max Verstappen has weighed in on the struggles of rival compared to his team-mate so far this season. The Brit started the year as the favourite for glory but, so far, he has been outshone by the less experienced .

Norris won the first race of the year, the , to underline why he was the bookies' favourite. But he has yet to take another Grand Prix victory since, with Piastri winning four of the last five instead to take control of the drivers' championship.

is the only other driver to have managed a Grand Prix win so far in 2025. That came at Suzuka where he used the narrow track to his advantage after surprisingly qualifying on pole to keep the McLaren's behind.

He is third in the championship and still very much in touching distance of them both. But he will need a much improved car in the coming weeks and months if he has a chance of making it five titles in a row.

Part of the reason why he has been able to stay fairly close is because Piastri and Norris are sharing the spoils so often, while Verstappen is the only Red Bull driver in the fight. And he has been more consistent, particularly in qualifying, than Norris despite the Brit having the quicker car.

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"Honestly, I think both of them are very good," Verstappen said of the McLaren pair, speaking to ahead of this weekend's . But he made it clear he thinks Norris, who he beat to the title by 63 points last year, has to find more consistency.

He said: "Lando, I think, has the pace. It just hasn't really come out yet over a [sustained] period of time. But I think it's still going to be a tight championship for them. I don't know where I'm going to be. I'm just trying to maximise every result. At the end of the day, we can't rely on them to make mistakes. It has to come from us."

Verstappen failed to make it to the podium last time out at the , despite again qualifying on pole ahead of both McLaren cars. He put up a valiant fight against both but could not keep them behind and also lost a place to later on.

That was likely because of the damage he did to his tyres while fighting furiously against Norris in particular earlier in the race. "He's fighting hard, but it's up to him to do that. He's ruining his own race. He's not racing very smart," the Brit later said of that duel.

But Verstappen refused the opportunity to respond to that barb from his rival, choosing instead to say it was pointless firing back and vowing not to change his driving style.

He said: "Lando can say what he wants. Honestly, I enjoyed it. I know it makes headlines, which is what drives the sport. But for me, it's not worth my time to try and counter that again. I race how I race."