Monday, December 23, 2024

All the reaction to Verstappen-Norris clash as Austrian GP fallout continues

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The Formula 1 world is still riding the wave of the wild crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as the two drivers battled for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix — which means the two drivers are still dominating headlines as we move into Silverstone week.

Thankfully, if you’re looking to catch up on all the biggest headlines, PlanetF1 has them all in one convenient place.

Martin Brundle calls Verstappen’s behavior “Max 1.0”

Martin Brundle has said the crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris was a case of “very much Max 1.0” being on show on Sunday.

Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty by the FIA for being found predominantly at fault for causing the collision between himself and Norris as they fought for the lead in the closing stages at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, meanwhile, offered up a defence of his driving tactics, but former F1 driver and current Sky commentator Brundle believes that the display on show from the reigning World Champion was a return to his earlier “default driving tactics” – though he stands by his assessment of his talent being up there with one of the best he has ever seen in the sport.

Read more: Martin Brundle makes ‘Max 1.0’ assessment with ‘alarming’ Verstappen-Norris clash element

Christian Horner defends Red Bull against Verstappen’s claim the team ‘did a lot wrong’

Christian Horner has looked for perspective as Max Verstappen said Red Bull “did a lot of stuff wrong” in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen explained in his post-race media session that Red Bull’s pit stops were a “disaster” that meant he “gave up free lap time” to allow Lando Norris back into the hunt on Sunday, but with that came the additional risk of contact – which duly came as the pair battled for the lead.

Speaking afterwards, Red Bull team principal Horner looked to put the three-time World Champion’s views into perspective – and accepted that, while “hindsight is a wonderful thing”, the fact he came away from the weekend with a bigger lead in the Drivers’ Championship means the weekend was not a total loss.

“You’ve spoken to him when he’s just had a tough race,” Horner said to media including PlanetF1.com when presented with Verstappen’s comments.

Read more: Christian Horner responds to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull ‘did a lot wrong’ claim in Austria

The latest data from the Austrian Grand Prix

👉 Austrian GP data: How Max Verstappen lost the race and the Lando Norris effect

👉 Austrian GP qualifying data: The two corners that make Max Verstappen unbeatable

Helmut Marko says both Norris and Verstappen are to blame

Helmut Marko believes “both” Max Verstappen and Lando Norris carry some of the blame for their Austrian GP crash, but so too do Red Bull.

“We lost the victory due to several factors,” Marko told ServusTV. “The fact that our pit stop went wrong, which put Lando in DRS range.

“We expected that the hard tyres would be the better choice, but that turned out to not be the case. The temperatures were lower than expected.

“That meant Lando had new tyres in his last stint and we were on used. That was also a factor. Max also locked up after his pit stop in Turn 4. All that together made it difficult for us.”

Read more: Helmut Marko apportions blame in ‘unnecessarily fierce’ Verstappen v Norris clash

Lando Norris is still critical of ‘desperate’ Verstappen

Lando Norris has criticised Max Verstappen for being “reckless” and “desperate” in their Austrian GP battle, but stopped short of saying he’d exposed a weakness in the Red Bull driver’s personality.

Norris and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel for the victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after another late-race surge from Norris put the McLaren driver right on Verstappen’s rear wing.

Asked by PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher if he had ‘exposed something of a weakness in Verstappen’s personality’ during their fight, Norris replied: “I don’t want to talk about it too much. That’s for you guys to decide.

“I do what I can, I’m trying to drive a good fair race, and it’s not what I got in return from his side.”

Read more: Lando Norris continues criticism of ‘little bit desperate’ and ‘reckless’ Max Verstappen

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