Lando Norris has aimed a bitter jibe at AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries after contact at the first corner of the Miami Grand Prix left the McLaren at the back of the pack.
Rookie de Vries was swamped off the line after a slow start and found Norris ahead into Turn 1. The Dutchman locked his brakes and ran into the back of the Briton, pushing the MCL60 wide and demoting him to the back of the pack.
Though the incident was investigated, de Vries escaped punishment from the FIA race stewards, allowing him to focus on the race ahead and the former Formula E World Champion eventually finished 18th, one spot behind Norris.
It was the latest in a string of mistakes by de Vries since joining the F1 grid full-time and, addressing the collision when speaking to media including RacingNews365.com, Norris said: "He's done that a bit lately, [he] needs to try braking a little bit earlier."
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Norris on 'long' race
McLaren opted to start both cars on a set of Soft tyres but the gamble ultimately failed, with Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri forced to pit for a set of Hards before any other driver in the opening seven laps.
"I guess frustrating, it was just a long race, not enough speed to battle anyone and way out of the points," added Norris.
"It is tough but I did what I could.
"[We] just need to keep trying to do what we are doing. We didn't do anything wrong, we just have a car that isn't quick enough at the minute, so [we need to] just keep working hard."