The McLaren Lando Norris pilot sparked a lively debate on social networks after the Grand Prix of Émilie-Romagne, suggesting publicly that Red Bull’s victory was not solely due to merit, but rather to a combination of “luck” and alleged “favoritism” on the part of the FIA and the racing commissioners. The daring statements of Norris, pronounced in an interview from the post-Courses quickly become viral, aroused strong controversy among the fans and within the Paddock of Formula 1.
The accusations of Norris, without explicitly detailing specific cases of favoritism, suggested that certain decisions or absences of FIA decisions and commissioners during the race could inadvertently benefit from Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. This feeling echoed certain discussions of online fans, but the fact that a pilot of the stature of Norris publicly expresses such concerns added a considerable weight and a considerable controversy to the narrative surrounding the victory of Verstappen.
A few minutes after Norris’ words started to grow, the defending world champion Max Verstappen published a concise and scathing response of nine words on his own social networks. If the exact formulation circulates and debated, the underlying message would be a disdainful and assured affirmation of its performance and that of Red Bull, as well as a subtle questioning of the exploits of Norris. This rapid and acerbic response of Verstappen gave the ball in the Norris camp.
The brevity and the franchise of Verstappen’s response would first have left Lando Norris speechless, without there being any immediate public counter-response from the McLaren driver. This exchange has further intensified the already fierce rivalry between the two young talents and their respective teams. The Formula 1 community is now waiting to see if Norris will develop its accusations and how the FIA could react to the accusations of partiality formulated by a renowned pilot. This off -track drama should continue to make the headlines as the next Grand Prix approaches.
