Lando Norris withdrew some of his criticism of Max Verstappen regarding their Austrian Grand Prix collision as he insisted his rival does not owe him an apology over the incident.
Red Bull’s Verstappen and McLaren’s Norris collided as they battled for the lead in the closing stages of last weekend’s race, with the Briton left to retire, while Verstappen finished fifth after being forced to pit.
Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty by the stewards for causing the incident, and Norris said after the race he would lose “respect” for the three-time world champion if he did not accept responsibility.
However, speaking at Silverstone ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Norris appeared to backtrack from his initial criticism as he confirmed he had spoken to Verstappen, with whom he shares a friendship.
“Honestly, I don’t think he needed to apologise,” Norris said. “Some of the things I said in the pen after the race were more just because I was frustrated at the time, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotions and I probably said some things I didn’t necessarily believe in, especially later on in the week.
“It was tough. It was a pretty pathetic incident in terms of what ended both our races. It wasn’t like a hit, it wasn’t like an obvious bit of contact. It was probably one of the smallest bits of contact you could have, but with a pretty terrible consequence for both of us, especially for myself.
“He doesn’t need to. I don’t expect an apology from him. I don’t think he should apologise. I thought it was, as reviewed, good racing, at times maybe very close to the edge, but like I said we’ve spoken about it and we’re both happy to go racing again.”
Norris: FIA need to be aware something could go wrong
Despite softening his stance, Norris urged the sport’s governing body to provide further clarity regarding drivers moving under braking, which is what he accused Verstappen of doing on multiple occasions over team radio before the collision.
“I think it was still very clear that it was happening, but it’s a tricky one,” Norris said. “Max isn’t going to want to crash, he isn’t going to want to ruin his own race and his own chances.
“I think yes, there are definitely things I need to do slightly differently but in the end of it, I don’t think he’s going to change too much, I don’t think I need to change too much.
“Could we have avoided the crash? Definitely, because I easily could have used more kerb. But there’s things from both sides that I’m sure we wanted to do better or in a slightly different way.
“But on the whole, I think avoiding an incident from moving under braking is probably the biggest part of it. There could very easily be an incident that comes from such a thing and I think the only thing we have to be very careful of is something that could happen.
“So that’s just something for the future and something that the stewards and FIA need to be aware of, that something could easily go wrong. So I think to a certain point, you’re defending, you’re being aggressive and that’s okay, but there will be a point when there is a limit and I think that just needs to be defined in a slightly better way.”
The ultimate consequence of the incident was Verstappen, who is chasing a fourth successive drivers’ title, extending his lead over Norris at the top of the standings to 81 points.
With the season reaching its halfway point at Silverstone this weekend, Norris has a mountain to climb, but insists he is excited to resume his contest with Verstappen in front of his home fans.
“It’s clear how he races. It’s tough, it’s on the limit. It’s what we love, it’s what I love,” Norris said.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the whole fight I had with him. Of course it was a shame things ended the way they did. But apart from that, things are clear from what you see on TV and I’m excited to go racing again this weekend.”
Verstappen ‘only cares’ about Norris friendship
Verstappen insisted that amid the furore that has followed the incident, his only concern was ensuring the maintenance of his friendship with Norris.
The Dutchman revealed that it was Norris who first contacted him on Monday, with Verstappen insinuating that his rival sought to clarify the comments he had made in the heat of the moment after the race.
“That’s why I already said after the race, there’s no point to discuss it now. Emotions are running high and stuff like that,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
“I woke up already quite early because I wanted to talk to Lando but he already texted me, in the morning on Monday. I think the day after your emotions are a bit lower.
“I respected that a lot. And we are great friends. He’s a very nice guy, honestly. And of course I was also really upset and disappointed that we got together because naturally, of course on the track you race each other hard, but as a friend as well, you’re very disappointed that happened.”
Verstappen has been jeered and booed by fans at the British Grand Prix over the last two years following his fierce 2021 title battle with Silverstone fans’ favourite Lewis Hamilton, but claimed the crowd reaction this year wouldn’t bother him.
“I’ve had that already before,” he said. “I just focus on the performance. Everything is cleared, which for me was the most important, and we move on.
“The only thing that I care about in my life is that I’m getting on well with Lando.”
Similarly to Norris, Verstappen insisted that the duo would continue to race hard when their battle inevitably resumes at Silverstone, where Red Bull and McLaren are expected to be the two fastest cars on track once more.
“Also quite quickly, when we were talking, we had the same opinion of we have to race each other hard because that’s what we like to do and that’s what we’ve always done,” Verstappen said.
“Not only in F1, even when we used to race together online and stuff like that, that’s what we really enjoyed about each other – battling hard, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Sky Sports F1’s live British GP schedule (all F1 sessions on Sky Showcase)
Thursday July 4
6pm: The F1 Show
Friday July 5
8.35am: F3 Practice
9.55am: F2 Practice
12pm: British GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
2.05pm: F3 Qualifying
3pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: British GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
Saturday July 6
9.15am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: British GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: British GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 7
8:15am: F3 Feature Race
9:50am: F2 Feature Race
11:50am: Porsche Supercup
1:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – British GP build-up
3pm: The BRITISH GRAND PRIX
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
6pm: Ted’s Notebook
F1’s summer triple-header concludes with the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
