The late race fight at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen resulted in the first major on-track incident between the two most prominent drivers in the World Championship at the moment. After a close battle in the previous laps, lap 64 was the one move too many for the Dutchman who, responding to his rival’s shift on the outside of Turn 3, came into contact with him, causing a puncture for both drivers.
While Norris looked set to take the lead and potentially win if he could clear his track limits penalty, he was eventually forced to step down as Verstappen finished fifth despite his 10-second penalty for his part in the collision.
VIDEO – Norris and Verstappen clash in Austria
In front of the press after the race, Norris displayed a calm face but did not hold back his blows against his friend, judging that he had repeatedly acted against the rules in the defense of his first position. “There are rules about what you’re not allowed to do and what you’re allowed to do. He was doing things you’re not allowed to do and he wasn’t penalized.”he initially decided.
“I’m expecting a tough fight against Max. I know what to expect. I expect aggression, pushing the envelope and that kind of thing, but all three times he did things that could easily cause an incident. And in a way it was a little reckless, he seemed a little desperate on his end. He doesn’t need to be, he’s got a lot of wins, but he was a little desperate and doing everything he could to not let me go. I know he’s going to be aggressive so I’m not surprised, but I expected a tough, fair and respectful fight and I don’t feel like that’s what he gave me.”
“The problem is that there is always a little movement, but he was completely reacting to what I was doing”he added. “And once you commit that aggressively on the brakes, you don’t leave room to disengage and give a little bit more room in the middle of a braking zone. Once you commit, you commit. He was moving, which forced me to move and therefore lock up [les roues] or to do something [pour l’éviter]. But each time, before he moved, I wasn’t stuck, I wasn’t losing control, or that sort of thing.”
“My moves were okay until I had to react to something he did in the middle of a braking zone and I can’t… You don’t have any grip, you can’t, once you’re on the edge, adjust and counter those kinds of things. At the same time, if I’m not able to move like I was, there’s going to be more crashes. So, like I said, it’s not up to me. I’m happy with what I did. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Norris waits for Verstappen to admit responsibility
For Norris, it is clear that it is not on his side that things must change and particularly in his way of approaching the incident which ended his GP: “No, I don’t think I need to change anything about what I do. I was on the sidelines, I didn’t know what else to do. Yes, it was always a bit like that I respect Max a lot and what he can accomplish, you know, every time he’s on the track, but there are times where I think maybe he goes a little too far and. I feel like today that’s a bit the case.”
“I’m disappointed”he added, highlighting the impact of the damage from the collision on the sporting and budgetary aspect. “He ruined my race, destroyed my car, you know, it’s the best parts of the car that are going to the trash. We don’t have a lot of room to maneuver in the battle that we’re in, in terms of upgrades, budget cap and things like that. My whole car is destroyed and these are all things that we need for next week. It’s not just a repercussion of what’s happening on track, it’s all the things that we have to bring to Silverstone that are putting us at a disadvantage. Yeah, I expected a bit more from him.”
I try to run a good race, a fair race. But […] This is not what I received in return from him.
“I do what I can. I try to have a good race, a fair race. But like I said, that’s not what I got in return from him. But I don’t care about the rest, honestly. It’s not up to me to decide penalties and things like that. You know, I feel like what he did was unfair three times. No warning was given. He did it again last time and ruined both our races. That’s it.”
Asked by Sky Sports if he still respected Verstappen after that clash, Norris replied: “I don’t know, it depends on what he says. If he says he didn’t do anything wrong, I’ll lose a lot of respect for him. If he admits… yes, to having been a little stupid, for getting into it and being a little thoughtless in a way, then I would have a little respect for him But it’s always difficult to accept when you’re fighting for the. victory and I’m trying to be okay on my part and it wasn’t I don’t know, I’m not thinking about that I’m not worried about that right now. the team.”
With Filip Cleeren and Sam Hall
VIDEO – Summary of the Austrian GP
