No need for Max Verstappen to apologize for Austria F1 clash, says Lando Norris

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Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen shouldn’t apologize for their collision last weekend while fighting for victory at the Austrian GP, revealing they’re “both happy to go racing again” after speaking twice about the incident.

Norris and Verstappen clashed in the closing stages of Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring, damaging both of their cars.

Norris was forced to retire from the race, while Verstappen finished fifth despite pitting for repairs and receiving a time penalty for the incident. The contact allowed George Russell to snatch victory for Mercedes.

After the race, Norris described the move from Verstappen as “reckless” and “desperate” and said it was on the Red Bull driver to reach out to discuss what happened.

But Norris tempered his feelings on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix, admitting his post-race comments in Austria were “more because I was frustrated at the time,” and he “probably said some things I didn’t necessarily believe in.”

Norris even called the side-by-side contact “pretty pathetic,” given its consequences for both their races, and made clear he did not need an apology from Verstappen.

“I don’t expect an apology from him,” Norris said. “I don’t think he should apologize. I thought it was good racing. At times, maybe very close to the edge, but like I said, we’ve spoken about it, we’ve talked about it, and we’re both happy to go racing again.”

Norris said he had spoken to Verstappen twice since Austria. “As to what we spoke about, it’s between us,” Norris said. “But yep, (it’s) business as usual between us.”

Norris admitted that “the more I’ve thought about things, the more I’ve thought that it was just racing” between him and Verstappen and that he “probably overreacted.” But he refused to comment whether Verstappen deserved the penalty for causing the incident.

Max Verstappen talks to the media in the paddock during previews ahead of the British Grand Prix. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

A couple of hours later, Verstappen said, “The only thing that I cared about is maintaining my relationship with Lando because we are great friends.”

He said they ultimately agreed they “really enjoyed our battle” and echoed Norris’s thoughts on the incident, saying it was a “silly little touch.”

“We agreed with 99 percent of everything,” Verstappen said. “That’s a lot already. And, naturally, I said to Lando, when you go for moves up the inside, outside, you can trust me that I’m not there to crash you out of the way. The same the other way around because we spoke about that as well.”

The stewards deemed that Verstappen had been predominantly to blame for the incident in Austria due to his move to the left as Norris moved his car to the outside of the corner.

Verstappen said there was “always a human reaction when someone dives up the inside or the outside,” and he felt “everything I did was nothing massively over the top.”

Both drivers seemed to put the incident behind them this week. (HOCH ZWEI/Sipa USA)

The collision between Norris and Verstappen fueled the debate over what is acceptable in wheel-to-wheel fights after McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested the FIA needed to clamp down on the racing rules.

“Like how you design the car, you try to go to the edge of the rules,” Verstappen said. “Maybe you find some gray areas here and there. And that’s the same (as) how you race. Otherwise, you will never be a top driver, and you will never succeed in life anyway.”

Norris has emerged as Verstappen’s most serious threat at the front of the F1 pack since 2021 when the Dutchman endured a fierce, incident-laden fight with Lewis Hamilton for the world championship.

But Verstappen was confident his friendship with Norris could survive their on-track battles, saying the McLaren driver was “a great guy” and “a really nice person who loves Formula 1, of course, he loves racing.”

This weekend, Verstappen and Norris will renew their battle in Norris’s home race at Silverstone, which he aims to win for the first time.

Verstappen said he was not concerned about any negative reaction from the British fans at Silverstone, nor was he bothered about potentially being booed by the crowd. “I’ve had that already before, you know?” Verstappen said. “I just focus on the performance. Everything is cleared, which for me is the most important, and we move on.”

He also said his and Norris’s approach would remain unchanged whenever they next battle on the track.

“We go at it flat out!” Verstappen said. “That’s what we agreed to. Because that’s what we like to do, and that’s what’s good for Formula One as well.”

Top photo of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen: Sipa USA, David Davies/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA