McLaren’s Lando Norris has backtracked from the initial fury he held after his Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix clash with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, saying he doesn’t think the Dutchman “needed to apologize.”
After several laps racing hard for the lead of the GP at the Red Bull Ring last weekend, Norris and Verstappen came together on the run-up to Turn 3 on Lap 64.
Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision but went on to finish fifth, whilst Norris was resigned to a DNF.
In the heat of the moment post-race, Norris claimed his off-track friendship with Verstappen would be affected if the Red Bull driver didn’t apologise for his part in the incident, but the McLaren ace has since cooled off upon arriving at Silverstone.
“Honestly, I don’t think he needed to apologize,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week on Thursday.
“Some of the things I said in the pen after the race was more because I was frustrated at the time.
“A lot of adrenaline and emotions, and I probably said some things I didn’t necessarily believe in, especially later on in the week. It was tough.
“It was a pretty pathetic incident, in terms of what ended both of our races.
“It wasn’t like a hit, it wasn’t like an obvious bit of contact. It was probably one of the smallest bits of contact you can have, but with a pretty terrible consequence for both of us, especially for myself.
“I don’t expect an apology from him, I don’t think he should apologize.
“I thought it was, as a review, 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 revealed that he and Verstappen spoke on Monday and Wednesday after the Formula 1 Austrian GP to clear the air and moving forward things are “business as usual” between them.
The initial outcry following the incident was that drivers had to adjust their approach to racing Verstappen compared to other competitors.
Norris however, said upon reflection that he “enjoyed” the fight with Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring.
“It’s clear how he races,” Norris said.
“It’s tough, it’s on the limit. And yeah, I think it’s what we love, it’s what I love.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the whole fight I had with him. Of course, it was a shame things ended the way they did.”
This weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix sets the stage for another Norris/Verstappen duel and the McLaren driver predicted that competition will be tight at Silverstone.
“We’ve been very close the last few races, but Mercedes have been getting closer and closer,” Norris said.
“If you look back to last weekend, Mercedes were extremely quick, if not one of the quickest cars in the race.
“So they’ve taken probably a few steps forward since where they were. We’re in a good position, but so are Red Bull. So yeah, expecting a close battle between many of us.”
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