It has been a few weeks since Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had their controversial collision in Austria, but that incident is still talked about in the F1 community. The latest to comment on it is four-time F1 champion Alain Prost. The Frenchman believes that the stewards penalized Verstappen in Austria based on reputation rather than facts.
“Penalties should not be handed out based on reputation but on facts,” explained Prost while speaking to L’Equipe. “It is not unusual to try to close the gap on the left when the next corner goes to the right. That is how you prevent someone from overtaking you and that has been happening for as long as racing has existed”.
The 69-year-old then acknowledged that Verstappen is indeed a “tough racer” but this does not mean that he should “pay the price for his tough image”. Prost gave the example of Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher to explain how F1 has also had “aggressive drivers” in the past but they still did not face the same scrutiny as the Dutchman.
Prost’s remarks come after the stewards gave Verstappen a 10-second penalty for ‘causing a collision’. Verstappen and Norris collided with each other on lap 64 of 71 at turn 3 in Spielberg while battling for the lead.
Verstappen Norris
Incredible scenes at the Red Bull Ring #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YvD0dg2TUH
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Their coming together ended the race for Norris, who slammed Verstappen in the immediate aftermath of their collision. On the other hand, the Dutchman, who managed to finish fifth in Austria, unsurprisingly pleaded his innocence.
The Austrian GP was yet another race when Norris and Verstappen fought hard for the win, having previously gone wheel to wheel in Imola, Canada, and Spain. However, in each of these three instances, it was Verstappen who came out on top.
The three-time champion carried over his form to Silverstone last weekend as well since he beat Norris to second despite not having the quickest car for the race. Following the British GP, Norris blamed himself yet again for his failure to win.
Jenson Button believes Norris should not show his weaknesses
Norris indeed had a brilliant opportunity to win at Silverstone as he was in the lead of the race until the final round of pit stops. The Briton and his team’s decision to opt for the soft tires and pit a lap later than his rivals cost him the opportunity to win his maiden race at home.
Although McLaren as a team took the wrong call with the pit stops, Norris took the entire blame upon himself. “I blame myself today for not making some of the right decisions”, said the 24-year-old. “I hate ending in this position and having excuses for not doing a good enough job”.
View this post on Instagram
After hearing Norris’ post-race remarks, 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button urged the McLaren driver to “be a little bit careful with his emotions“. Button believes that if the #4 driver keeps blaming himself, his emotions could “quite easily spiral out of control”.
Button believes that if Norris keeps showing his weaknesses in such a fashion, his rivals are likely to take advantage of him. Hence, the Miami GP winner would definitely want to learn to keep his emotions in check better moving forward as doing so can help him become more confident and use the talent he has to win more when he has the chance.
