Tensions briefly boiled over in the media pen at the Qatar Grand Prix after George Russell interrupted Lando Norris’ interview to confront him over an incident during qualifying.

Lando Norris has brushed off Max Verstappen’s claim the championship would have been over “a long time ago” if he was driving a McLaren, saying it fits Red Bull’s approach of “just talking nonsense.” Norris entered the Qatar Grand Prix weekend with a 24-point buffer over Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the world championship standings.

Lando Norris sounded despondent over the team radio after a moment of understeer resulted in him failing to set a final flying lap. After Oscar Piastri had won from pole in the sprint, Norris was hoping for a fightback in qualifying for the main race but instead was unable to have one last go at the quickest lap.

Earlier in the day, Piastri claimed a convincing victory in the sprint race to close the gap to Norris at the top of the standings to 22 points, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished fourth, just behind Norris, to fall to 25 points behind the leader.

Max Verstappen has told Lando Norris that if he was driving his McLaren the world championship would "easily" be over.

Lando Norris could become world champion on Sunday if he wins the race, or outscores Oscar Piastri by four points and finishes ahead of Max Verstappen; watch the Qatar Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 at 4pm on Sunday,