Max Verstappen pokes fun at McLaren and Lando Norris with 'ugly' comment
Max Verstappen was in the mood for teasing ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Max Verstappen described his 'Orange Army' as the 'good orange' ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, labelling the McLaren car of Lando Norris starting behind him as the 'ugly' orange.
The Dutchman secured pole position ahead of his closest title rival by a monstrous four-tenths of a second following one of his greatest-ever qualifying displays on Saturday.
When the lights go out at the Red Bull Ring, the three-time world champion will be roared on by legions of travelling Dutch fans, all decked out in orange clothing and merchandise to celebrate their hero.
These fans, known as the 'Orange Army' were addressed by the interviewer on the pre-race driver parade, but the threat of the papaya-liveried McLaren team was also acknowledged.
"Yeah, but this is the good orange!" Verstappen hit back, pointing towards the ecstatic home crowd, before joking: "The one behind me is ugly, so it's okay... we'll deal with that!"
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Verstappen vs Norris is becoming a highly-anticipated battle among fans and you can expect the pair to fight off the line following an intense scrap during the opening stages of Saturday's sprint race.
"It's always nice to race," he said after discovering that he would be starting the Austrian GP alongside his championship rival. "Hopefully, it's a tight battle again but we'll see."
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Norris, however, was feeling apprehensive following a mighty qualifying showing from Verstappen. "It’s tough," he explained. "When you look at the pace today, it’s clear that we’re going to give it a lot. We’re going to need something extra to beat the pace of Max and the Red Bulls.
"I’ll try. I’ll do a better job than I did this morning, that’s for sure. I’m excited. I’ll look forward to it. It’s a long race, many things can happen, and normally we’re better in the races than we are in qualifying, so let’s see."