Lando Norris hits back at Max Verstappen with Red Bull blast as Singapore GP drama escalates

Lando Norris has accused Red Bull of "complaining about everything" after Max Verstappen hit out at him after qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. The Dutchman was furious with his McLaren rival who he accused of getting in his way during the session and told the Brit that "it will be remembered".

Norris was ahead of Verstappen on track as the Dutchman was on his final flying lap, pushing for pole position. And the dirty air that came from the McLaren caused the Red Bull racer to make a mistake which meant he had to settle for second place on the grid for Sunday's race, behind Brit George Russell.

"That's what happens when there is a car in front of you, just cruising three seconds in front," Verstappen said with feeling as he reacted to that error, before warning Norris that he will bear it in mind in the future, adding: "So that's noted, it will be remembered as well."

When asked about Verstappen's frustration by the written media in Singapore, Norris was equally punchy as he took aim at Verstappen's team for their attitude towards the situation. The McLaren driver quipped: "They always complain. They complain about everything – that's Red Bull."

Despite Verstappen's initial annoyance, he was unwilling to comment further on what happened when he was asked by Sky Sports in the TV pen. But he did share his delight in the pace Red Bull were able to produce on a track where they have struggled in recent years.

The four-time F1 champion said: "So that was a bit of a shame because it could have been close for pole. It's always a bit exciting here in qualifying and of course I'm a little bit disappointed to not be first, but this weekend so far for us has been really good. The car has been very competitive, so for us to be second again is really good."

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Norris qualified fifth in a disappointing result for McLaren, who never looked likely to have either of their drivers on pole. Oscar Piastri was third quickest to give the Aussie an advantage over over his team-mate in terms of their title duel.

Norris also revealed he has been battling against illness: "If there's anywhere you don't want to be poorly, it's here. I'm better today - yesterday and the day before I was struggling a little bit. It hit my pretty quickly, but it also went away relatively quickly. I'm probably not optimal, but no excuses for today."

He went on to add that he was not surprised by the pace of their rivals and said: "Mercedes are doing a good job, Red Bull like we've seen have been very good the last few weekends so nothing is a surprise. The only thing, Singapore has always been a bit of a weird one and we know when we struggle with the front tyres, we struggle as a team.

"I think we understand why we have struggled a little bit with the front of the car not strong enough, too much understeer and things like that. Then you have to make compromises and give up rear grip for that. It just feels disappointing that we're not quick enough. That's why it doesn't matter when you say you dominated one, two or three weekends, when you come here and you're three-tenths off the pace, it's too slow and you don't feel like you've done a good job."