Lando Norris has denied “trying to have a dig” at Max Verstappen when he used his rival’s “simply lovely” catchphrase to celebrate victory at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris produced a stunning performance to beat Verstappen by 22 seconds in Zandvoort, inflicting a first home career loss on the Dutchman and reducing his world championship lead to 70 points.
Red Bull’s Verstappen, who is chasing a fourth successive drivers’ title, has celebrated many of his 61 F1 wins by saying “simply lovely” to his team over the radio at the end of races.
Asked ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix about the radio message, McLaren’s Norris insisted there was no ill will intended.
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Norris wins the Dutch GP, with a lead of over 20 seconds to Verstappen who comes in second
“Well, I mean he’s won a lot of races and he’s said a lot of things,” Norris said. “I’m not prepared for it, I don’t prepare myself for it, so it just felt like the easiest go to.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me from that side. I’m not trying to make a statement. I just want to go and win, and go home.
“I don’t care about trying to make statements and trying to do all of this. It just popped into my head and I thought I’d say it.
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Norris regains the lead at the Dutch GP after a successful overtake of Verstappen
“It’s a fun thing. I can’t think of those things. I’m not trying to have a dig or anything, like a lot of people want to come up with and headline with, and all of that nonsense.
“It was more a funny thing to do and obviously I respect Max a lot. So I stole one from his many, many wins that he’s got.”
You can watch more of Ted Kravitz’s interview with Lando Norris and the McLaren driver’s race engineer Will Joseph during Sky Sports F1’s build-up to the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday from 12.30pm.
Ricciardo: Verstappen won’t have taken message well
Daniel Ricciardo, who has previously been team-mates with both Verstappen and Norris, believes the Red Bull driver will not have taken the radio message “very nicely or too well”.
Ricciardo, who currently drives for Red Bull’s junior squad RB, was paired with Verstappen from 2016 to 2018. The Australian then featured alongside Norris at McLaren in 2021 and 2022.
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A look back at the hilarious space-hopper race at Silverstone between Daniel Ricciardo and Norris which saw the Australian driver disqualified for violent conduct!
“They both are obviously supremely talented,” Ricciardo said. “I’ve had the pleasure of being team-mates with both of them.
“Lando, I think his confidence is growing the longer he spends time in the sport and the more success he has.
“Very confident to throw out a ‘simply lovely’ after the race. As much as [Max and Lando] are friends, I know how competitive Max is.
“He would not have taken that very nicely or too well, so we’ll see how he responds this weekend.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Italian GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Italian Grand Prix
Saturday August 31
8.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Italian GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Italian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: ITALIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 1
7:30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up
2pm: The ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The 2024 Formula 1 season continues with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime