Lando Norris has sent Max Verstappen a congratulatory message online following his Brazilian Grand Prix victory – but later deleted his post likely due to a wave of criticism.
The Dutchman came from 17th on the grid to win the race and take a major step towards retaining his title, though the nature of the success prompted Norris to label his rival ‘lucky’ following the win.
With George Russell and Norris battling it out for the lead, the pair both pitted under a virtual safety car on lap 28 before Franco Colapinto crashed two laps later to bring out a red flag. Verstappen seized the opportunity by strapping on fresh intermediate tyres while the race was stopped and restarting in second, staying on to move into a 19-second lead and land the spoils.
Writing on his Instagram story after the race, Norris said: “Tough day out there. Not what we were hoping for and luck not on our side but we’ll keep fighting till the end. Not gonna give up until it’s over.
“Congrats Max Verstappen for the impressive win. As you say ‘simply lovely’.”
The congratulatory message to his title rival was posted on his story but was later deleted. He is likely to have received backlash due to falling further behind Verstappen and for labelling his rival ‘lucky’ earlier in the day.
In Norris’ immediate post-race reaction, he was frustrated with how the race unfolded and ultimately played into the hands of the Red Bull star.
Norris told Sky Sports F1: “I have faith in the team in what they are saying and they have trust in me. It was just unlucky. I don’t care about the hindsight side of things, that’s luck for them, nothing more.
“They [Red Bull] got lucky on a rule that no one agrees with. Probably they agreed with it today but every driver has disagreed with it in the past.
“Today it benefited them, it could have benefitted us if we just stayed out, but that’s a stupid thing to think of. Just a bit unlucky today, nothing more. Of course, disappointing.”
Asked for a word on his championship rival’s impressive victory, Norris added: “[Max] drove well. He got a bit lucky but that’s life.”
The result leaves Norris trailing Verstappen by 62 points, meaning that the latter can secure his fourth consecutive title by departing the Las Vegas Grand Prix next time with a 60-point lead or greater.
Norris, in contrast, has it all to do and will need several races to fall in his favour to turn the tide.
