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SPIELBERG, Austria — Over the past three seasons, the combination of Max Verstappen and the Red Bull car has proven so potent that only occasionally has another driver in Formula One seriously challenged him.
And over the past few races things have changed.
Lando Norris won in Miami, caught up with Verstappen at Imola and should have won in Canada and Spain but small mistakes cost him. Raced Verstappen. Their friendship, which began on planes and padel courts together, remains strong to this day.
But on Sunday at the Austrian Grand Prix, the inevitable happened: Verstappen and Norris raced seriously and hard, and ended up in a collision that tested the bond between them.
“It was a bit reckless,” a dejected Norris told the media after the race after missing out on a chance to win. “It seemed a bit desperate from his side.”
Learn more
George Russell wins Austrian Grand Prix after Verstappen and Norris collide
How Red Bull embarrassed Verstappen
It was an unlikely crash to begin with. Verstappen was in complete control until his pit stop on lap 51 of 71. His only minor annoyances were traffic, occasional no blue flags for lapped cars, and one late pit stop.
But a second, painfully slow pit stop by Red Bull, the cleverest and fastest team on the F1 grid, caused Verstappen trouble. A stop that would normally take around two seconds took 6.5 seconds because of a problem tightening a nut on the left rear wheel, wiping out his buffer over Norris.
One battle, two different perspectives 🗣️🗣️#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/5aUbIoTVG4
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Verstappen remained calm in front of the media after the race, seemingly more disappointed with Red Bull's handling of the race than the crash itself. He called the race “terrible” and said the team “got a lot of things wrong today,” citing a strategy that forced them to fight traffic and a “disastrous” pit stop. “When you gain six seconds of lap time in two pit stops, of course it's another race,” Verstappen said. “So that's why we put ourselves in that position.”
To complicate matters further for Verstappen, he was on less-used medium tyres rather than the fresh mediums available to Norris, giving the McLaren a grip advantage. As they weaved through traffic, Norris could easily stay within Verstappen's DRS range and start planning where to make his move.
Attacks collide
“When the need arises and the time comes to race him, I would 100 percent do it.”
Norris's interview promise Athletic He would surely be put to the test at some point at Suzuka, and he soon did by charging at Verstappen.
On lap 59, Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen for the first time coming from the crest of the hill into Turn 3, a wide corner with plenty of room to overtake on the inside. Norris briefly led, then went off the track, allowing Verstappen to get in front again on the way into Turn 4. Verstappen immediately notified his engineer that he had gone off the track, and realised that Norris had already been shown the black and white flag, the final caution for exceeding track limits. The fourth caution would result in a five-second penalty, which was only issued after Norris had been eliminated from the race.
Norris claimed that Verstappen had pushed him off and continued his attack undeterred, with Verstappen complaining over the radio that Norris was “diving on” and described in the media as “just delaying and speeding up and hoping that the other guy would be there to get me around the corner, but that wasn't the case.”
Norris continued to apply pressure while the stewards investigated the track limits infringement, and four laps later he tried to make another move at the same corner. This time the Red Bull went off the track. He continued to lead, which prompted Norris to complain over the radio. Norris had already pointed out that Verstappen had made an illegal move under braking (moving sideways while slowing down). Verstappen said he was forced to go off the track. A classic game of tactics between the two.
Then, on lap 64, there was a collision. Verstappen got on the inside and pushed Norris, causing the latter's car to drift slightly to the left. Both cars sustained damage in the side-on collision and had to crawl the long way back to the pits. Verstappen recovered to finish fifth, but Norris was forced to retire. Mercedes' George Russell won the race, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.
Racing hard or pushing the limits?
Prior to his current dominating form, Verstappen made a name for himself in F1 with his rigorous, no-compromise approach to wheel-to-wheel racing, so it's no surprise what happens when drivers go up against him.
“I expect a tough battle with Max, I know what's coming,” Norris said. “I expect that to happen – being aggressive, pushing the limits – but all three times he's done things that could have easily led to an accident.” He said the crash “wasn't a surprise in a way” but added he was disappointed he wasn't able to “race tough, fair, respectful and on the limit” in the fight for the win. “I think sometimes he pushes it a bit too much,” Norris added.
Verstappen denied crossing the line and claimed he had not moved under braking during the battle. He pointed to Norris' “dive” and called the stewards' 10-second time penalty (which they blamed “mainly on Verstappen” for shifting left) “a bit too harsh”. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described it as an in-race incident. “Max is a hard racer and they know that,” he said.
Admittedly, Verstappen is a tough racer, which was part of the reason why something like this was bound to happen. Verstappen hadn't been pushed like this since his battle with Hamilton peaked in 2021. Now Norris and McLaren have the package to not only challenge but beat Verstappen, which is likely to bring back more aggressive on-track tactics and lead to incidents like this.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella feels the stewards should have shown Verstappen a black and white warning flag for the car moving under braking because the Red Bull driver “was more careful when closing the door on Lando”.
“It's a great fight, but you don't need to act so desperately,” Stella said. “You don't need to think the world is ending just because the car behind you has completed an overtake.”
Was it inevitable? Horner used the word twice after the race. “This building will probably see a few races,” he said. “At some point there will be an intimacy between the two of them.”
Verstappen didn't want to think like that. “I've never thought about things like that,” he said. “But in close races, sometimes things happen that you never want to happen.”
Will Norris and Verstappen ever reconcile?
The clash in Austria was a flashpoint in the competitive and personal relationship between Norris and Verstappen, who, as Sunday's race made clear, currently appear one step ahead of other drivers in F1.
The two have shared numerous cool-down rooms and press conferences over the past 12 months, joking and chatting regularly. In the heat of the moment, tensions show little sign of easing. Norris has no interest in offering a reconciliatory hand or trying to clear the air. “That's not for me to say,” he said. “That's for him to say.”
Verstappen said there would be an opportunity to talk but that “it's not the right time” and that “it's better to calm down.” Verstappen said there were no plans for them to return to Monaco together, as they have done after other races this season.
Verstappen said he hoped the incident would not damage their relationship. “We're all racing drivers, of course we don't want to crash into each other,” he said. “When you're fighting for the top spot it's always a tough battle and that's what happened today. It's always a shame. I'm frustrated, he's frustrated and I think that's natural.”
Verstappen correctly points out that the right time for reconciliation will come, and we can already expect to see pictures of the two of them smiling together on Instagram, a sign to the world that all is well. They're friends again.
But as long as the gap between Norris and Verstappen remains so close on track and we see such fierce battles so frequently, their dynamics will continue to be tested.
This is an exciting prospect for F1, after not being that competitive for a long time.
(Main image: Rudy Calesevoli, ERWIN SCHERIAU/APA/AFP via Getty Images)