Lando Norris has hit back at Fernando Alonso after the Aston Martin driver joked that McLaren may be getting “overconfident” in their battle for P4 in the Constructor Championship standings.
The two teams are separated by just 49 points heading into the Qatar Grand Prix and with six rounds remaining, there is still plenty of time for McLaren to close that gap and gain valuable prize money ahead of the 2024 season.
Norris’ performances have been a major contributing factor to that recovery with the 23-year-old recording four P2 finishes since the British Grand Prix and leading the fightback as Aston Martin continue to struggle.
Igniting the rivalry ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, Alonso commented: “They’ve been very strong before the August break, in Austria, and in Silverstone. They were close to being both on the podium at Silverstone and then, Zandvoort, we were on the podium and they struggled a little bit, so it’s good if they’re overconfident and let’s see if we can beat them.”
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The Spaniard’s comments provoked a response from Norris, who said: “How many points did we catch last weekend? Quite a few, over 20 I think. So unless his his math is deteriorating, which it definitely isn’t, then that’s just Fernando, he’s always gonna say things.
“He always makes himself look very good or other makes other people look bad. He’s very good at that. I don’t think we’re overconfident in any way. I think we’re the last people who have ever been overconfident in saying anything.”
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With both Norris and his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri having their lap times deleted during the final runs of qualifying on Friday, tensions are running particularly high. The same can be said for Alonso’s team-mate, Lance Stroll, who was wrapped up in controversy after shoving his personal trainer in the garage after exiting his Aston Martin car.
Norris was also extremely frustrated, although he took his disappointment out on himself. Discussing his qualifying mishaps, he told Sky Sports F1: “I had a correction of oversteer and went off. The team did a good job, I just messed it up.
“I just think of the job I’m meant to do today, which is put in good laps and don’t make mistakes, that’s what I did today, so not a good day for me.”
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