The Red Bull star’s father felt Norris went too far at Turn 1, even though Max defended the McLaren driver’s move.
Max Verstappen’s 2025 title hopes are alive again after Lando Norris was disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, cutting the Dutchman’s deficit to just 24 points. The McLaren driver had a chance to knock Verstappen out of the championship fight altogether, but a double disqualification for Norris and Oscar Piastri changed the outlook heading into the final two rounds.
Verstappen dominated under the lights in Sin City, controlling his pace to keep George Russell and Norris at bay. But the biggest shift came post-race when McLaren were penalised for running illegal skid block thicknesses. Norris lost P2 and Piastri lost P4, giving Verstappen a major boost in the standings.
Jos Verstappen believes Norris was “too aggressive” into Turn 1
Norris had started the race from pole and swept aggressively inside to protect the lead from Verstappen on the short run to Turn 1. But he braked too late, ran wide, and allowed the Red Bull driver to seize control of the race almost immediately.
Jos Verstappen felt the McLaren driver crossed the line with the move, warning that Norris risked taking both cars out on the opening corner. Speaking to Motorsport-Total, he said: “That was too aggressive. It was a close call between the two cars, and then both would have been out of the race… Lando is only focused on Max, Max, Max, but simply forgets to brake for the first corner. Max braked at least five metres earlier.”
Max Verstappen says he would have done the same from pole
While Jos criticised Norris, Max Verstappen defended the Briton immediately after the race. The reigning champion admitted he would have made the exact same defensive move had he been starting from pole, noting how little time drivers have to react at Las Vegas.
“That’s what you should do to cover off the inside,” Max said via F1i. “It’s very easy to get caught out with where you have to brake… You don’t have a lot of time to look in the mirror because you immediately have to brake again. And it’s quite slippery anyway.”
Norris’ disqualification ultimately erased the importance of the Turn 1 exchange, but the Briton will take valuable lessons from the moment. Had he braked slightly earlier, he likely would have held the lead — and strengthened his title position. Instead, Verstappen heads to Qatar and Abu Dhabi within one race win of securing a fifth consecutive world championship.
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