Lando Norris has consistently challenged Max Verstappen for race wins since McLaren heavily upgraded the MCL38 in Miami. The tension between the two has been gradually growing and it came to a head in Austria where the two collided in the closing stage of the race, ruining their chances of victory.
However, a clip from Will Buxton’s grid walk in Austria recently surfaced on the internet which raises questions about McLaren’s front wing. Buxton and his camera guy got a close-up shot of the new front wing which had a sharp spike on the back side of the end plate.
Buxton even warned the other drivers, especially Max Verstappen of getting too close to the McLaren’s front wing. The F1 presenter said, “Take a look at the sharp edge on the side of the new McLaren front wing if you weren’t with us for the Sprint Race yesterday.”
“That’s why nobody wants to get too close to that McLaren. If they start wheel banging, if Max Verstappen or anybody gets too close to that, that is puncture city.”
And what Buxton predicted came to pass in the final stint of the race, when a bad pit stop for Verstappen allowed Norris to close in on him. The two fought hard for the race lead for a few laps before eventually colliding into turn 3 which resulted in punctures for both cars.
McLaren’s front wing not to be blamed for Verstappen’s puncture
After the collision, both Norris and Verstappen limped back to the pits for new tires. However, the Briton’s car was too badly damaged to go back out again resulting in his retirement. Verstappen was eventually able to recover to fifth place by the end of the race.
Further reviewing of the collision revealed that Verstappen’s puncture on the rear left tire resulted from the contact between their tires rather than the front wing of the McLaren. Sharp edges and pointy bits are not unusual in F1 as they are often used for increasing the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.
Verstappen Norris
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Moreover, teams have to provide a list of all the new components that they are bringing in for a race weekend to the FIA beforehand. And they are only allowed to use those components after FIA checks them for legality and other compliances. So, deeming McLaren’s sharp front wing as the reason for Verstappen’s puncture is unwarranted.
