Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were the centre of attention heading into the British Grand Prix last weekend. And it wasn’t just because they were the top two drivers in the championship.
They were coming off the back of their dramatic collision in the closing stages of the Austrian GP. Norris tried to pass Verstappen for the lead, but he ended up sustaining race-ending damage in their lap-64 contact.
Despite suffering a puncture and receiving a 10-second penalty, Verstappen was still able to finish fifth and extend his lead in the standings. Norris initially demanded an apology before they held private discussions during the week.
But the McLaren driver adopted a conciliatory tone on media day at Silverstone. He attributed his remarks to the heat of the moment and insisted no apology was necessary.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle felt it was a psychological victory for Verstappen. His wheel-to-wheel tactics had come under heavy scrutiny in the wake of the incident.
While stopping short of criticising the world champion, Zak Brown ‘went for’ Red Bull. The McLaren CEO accused Christian Horner of a ‘lack of respect’, which Ted Kravitz saw as an ‘explosive’ moment in their rivalry.
Zak Brown and Andrea Stella think Lando Norris made himself look ‘weak’
Brundle wasn’t the only one who felt Norris had backed down too easily. According to Auto Motor und Sport journalist Michael Schmidt, Brown and team principal Andrea Stella agreed.
Speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast, he said that, in the eyes of the team bosses, Norris had shown weakness with his remarks. The two drivers have been trying to maintain their longstanding friendship.
Before this year, the Englishman was rarely able to challenge Verstappen on track. But McLaren are now a match for Red Bull thanks to an exceptional series of upgrades.
“It was also disappointing for many people that Norris more or less withdrew his criticism of his friend Verstappen after the Austrian Grand Prix,” Schmidt said. “Brown and Stella weren’t so happy that their driver basically showed Verstappen that he was weak.”
Presenter Joel Lischka added: “Some people in the paddock said he didn’t do himself any favours against Verstappen, so to speak. There was a huge crowd on Thursday with Max Verstappen, who said the friendship with Lando is more important and it’s the only thing that counts. But when it comes down to it, he’ll stick with it [his approach to racing].”
Martin Brundle criticises McLaren’s ‘unfair’ treatment of Norris
Norris had a chance to win his home Grand Prix, and close the gap to Verstappen, last weekend. He started third but surged into the lead when the rain came down.
Lewis Hamilton ‘couldn’t believe’ how fast McLaren were as he and Mercedes teammate George Russell crawled around the track. By the time the race settled into an intermediate phase, Norris had established a three-second lead.
But as the track dried, they had to make a race-defining call on tyres. Brundle felt it was ‘unfair’ that McLaren asked Norris to choose his compound when they had so much more information at their disposal.
He opted for softs to try and cover Hamilton but he overshot his pit marks when he came in. Alex Wurz says Norris will be kicking himself over that error.
It meant he re-emerged behind the seven-time world champion, although he struggled for pace anyway and relinquished second to Verstappen. While he accepted responsibility, Jenson Button feels Norris needs to be ‘careful’ not to be overly self-critical.
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