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SPIELBER, Austria – Over the past three seasons, the combination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing has proven to be so strong that the rest of the Formula 1 world has only been able to pose a challenge to him on rare occasions. serious challenges.
Over the past few games, things have changed.
Lando Norris won at Miami, tied Verstappen at Imola and could have won in Canada and Spain, only for a few minor mistakes to cost him. he never really race Verstappen. Their friendship, sharing flights and cricket pitches, remains strong.
But at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, the inevitable happened: Verstappen and Norris really raced, raced hard, and ended up in a collision that would test their bond.
“It was a little reckless,” Norris said after the game, frustrated by the loss of his chance at victory. “It seemed a little desperate from his perspective.”
deeper
George Russell wins Austrian GP after Verstappen collides with Norris
How Red Bull put Verstappen in trouble
This was an accident that should never have happened. Verstappen was in complete control until he pitted on lap 51 of 71 laps.
But an extremely slow second stop from Red Bull, the trickiest and fastest team in F1, put Verstappen in trouble. A stop that normally takes about two seconds took 6.5 seconds due to a tightening problem with the left rear wheel nut, which wiped out Norris’s bumpers.
One battle, two different perspectives🗣️🗣️#F1 #AustriaGP pic.twitter.com/5aUbIoTVG4
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Verstappen was described as calm by the media after the race, seemingly more disappointed with Red Bull’s execution than the clash itself. He called it a “terrible” race and said the team “did a lot of wrong things today” and cited the strategy that led to him fighting traffic and a “disaster” pit stop. “You give a free lap time, six seconds after two pit stops and then, of course, it’s another race,” Verstappen said. “That’s why we put ourselves in this position.”
Verstappen’s other trouble was that he was running on a lightly used set of medium tyres, rather than the new tires that Norris could use, giving McLaren a grip advantage. As they weaved in and out of traffic, Norris could easily sit within Verstappen’s DRS range and start planning his movement.
Aggression meets aggression
“When I need to, when I play against him, I do it 100 percent.”
Norris’s promise in interview Competitor In Suzuka, there’s always going to be a test at some point. He quickly attacked Verstappen and succeeded.
On Lap 59, Norris made his first attempt to overtake Verstappen at the top of the hill and into Turn 3, a wide corner with plenty of room to drive from the inside. Norris briefly took the lead but ran off the track, allowing Verstappen to regain the lead heading into Turn 4. A black and white flag was seen, the final warning for exceeding track limits. As a fourth strike, this would trigger a five-second penalty that would only be issued after Norris exits the game.
Norris claimed he was pushed away by Verstappen and was undeterred and continued his attack. Verstappen complained on the radio that Norris was “dive bombing”, while in the press he described the moves as “just being late and hoping the other guy gets away from it and then you can go into the corner, that’s not the case” .
As stewards investigated the track limit violation, Norris kept up the pressure and took action again four laps later at the same corner. This time, Red Bull went off the track. He held on to the lead, prompting a radio complaint from Norris, who had already accused Verstappen of making an illegal move while braking (moving laterally while slowing down). Verstappen said he was forced off. Classic gaming techniques for both.
Then, on lap 64, the conflict occurred. Verstappen covered the inside and squeezed Norris, his car drifting slightly to the left. The side impact left both men injured and a lengthy climb back to the pits. Verstappen recovered to finish fifth, while Norris was forced to retire. Mercedes’ George Russell took the title, followed by Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.
A tough race or pushing the limits?
Before achieving his current dominance, Verstappen made a name for himself in F1 for his gritty, no-holds-barred approach to wheel-to-wheel racing. When drivers fight him, it’s no surprise what they get in return.
“I expect it’s going to be a tough battle with Max, I know what to expect,” Norris said. “I was expecting aggression and pushing the limits and that kind of thing. But all three times, he was doing things that could easily have caused an accident.” He added that he was “not surprised to some extent” by the conflict, but Disappointed not to get a “tough, fair, respectful, edge-of-the-seat game” in the win. “Sometimes I think he went a little too far,” Norris added.
Verstappen denied crossing the line, claiming he did not move when braking during the race. He noted Norris’s “dive bomb” and said the 10-second time penalty imposed by the stewards – who said Verstappen was “primarily at fault” for moving to the left – was “a bit serious”. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner described it as a racing incident. “Max is a hardworking racer and they know that,” he said.
Norris’s challenge rekindled Verstappen’s dormant passion for hard racing. (James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Yes, Verstappen is a tough racer. That’s part of the reason why this always happens. He hasn’t been pushed like this since the peak showdown with Hamilton in 2021. Track tactics are back and these tactics include: More likely to lead to such an incident.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes stewards should have shown Verstappen the black-and-white warning flag that moves when braking because it would have made the Red Bull driver “close the door on Lando.” Be more cautious.”
“This is a great fight, but there is no need to take such desperate action,” Stella said. “If the car behind can complete the overtaking maneuver, there is no need to think that the end of the world will happen.”
Is this inevitable? Horner used the word twice after the game. “You might see this building at a few games,” he said. “At some point, there’s going to be some kind of intimacy between the two of them.”
Verstappen didn’t want to think so. “That’s never been the way I think about things,” he said. “But in close combat, sometimes things happen that you don’t want to happen.”
Can Norris and Verstappen clear up the misunderstanding?
The Austrian race was a flashpoint for the rivalry and personal relationship between Norris and Verstappen, who currently look to be a step ahead of the rest of the drivers in F1, and that was clearly visible in Sunday’s race.
The pair have shared many cool-down rooms and press conferences over the past 12 months, often cracking jokes. Now, in the heated atmosphere following the collision, tensions show few signs of cooling. Norris had no intention of being the one to extend an olive branch or try to clear up misunderstandings. “It’s not my place to say that,” he said. “He has to say that for himself.”
Verstappen said they had a chance to talk but “it’s not the right time” and “it’s better to calm down”. He said they have no plans to return to Monaco together as they have done after other games this season.
Verstappen said he hoped it would not damage their relationship. “We’re both racing drivers and of course we don’t want to crash into each other,” he said. “It’s always a tough battle when you’re fighting for the lead. It happened today. It’s always a shame. I was angry, he was angry. I think it’s fair.
Verstappen is right that there will be an appropriate time for reconciliation. You can already predict the smiling posts the two share on Instagram, showing the world that all is well. Friends again.
However, as long as the gap between Norris and Verstappen remains so close on track, and as we see this kind of close battle more and more often, their momentum will continue to be tested.
It’s an exciting prospect for F1 after a long absence from such a competitive edge.
(Main photo: Rudy Carezzevoli, ERWIN SCHERIAU/APA/AFP via Getty Images)
