George Russell was the biggest beneficiary of the on-track scuffle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris during the closing stages of the 2024 Austrian GP. It allowed the Mercedes driver to win his second F1 race; Mercedes’ first since Sao Paolo 2022.
Russell was holding ground in P3 when Norris and Verstappen took each other out at the front. Norris tried to make a move around the Dutchman on lap 64, but they made contact resulting in a puncture for both cars. The McLaren driver had to retire from the race and Verstappen fell to P5, which allowed Russell to take the lead.
Looking back on the Norris vs Verstappen duel, Russell said, “Cool fight” in the cool-down room. To that, Oscar Piastri, who finished P2, replied, “Yeah because you won the race because of it.”
Russell on Norris-Verstappen collision: “Cool fight.
Piastri responds: “Yeah because you won the race because of it.” #AustriaGP #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CgDgOew4FH
— MrDeepak (@X_MrDeepak) June 30, 2024
Piastri and Russell both saw this incident in a light-hearted manner. However, Norris and Verstappen may have just kickstarted a rivalry that could bring an end to their friendship.
Off-track, they are very close but several times this season, questions were raised over what would happen if they dueled on the track. Now that they have, Norris admits that their friendship is under threat.
Lando Norris expects Max Verstappen friendship to be in jeopardy
Neither Norris nor Verstappen owned up to the collision after the Austrian GP. They both felt that the other driver was to blame and whereas Verstappen brushed the ordeal off as an unfortunate incident, Norris was more hurt.
When asked if his friendship with Verstappen will end, he replied, “I don’t know, it will depend on him and how he explains. If he claims to be right it will be over. If he admits that he did something stupid then I will understand.”
Verstappen Norris
Incredible scenes at the Red Bull Ring #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YvD0dg2TUH
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
The FIA investigated the incident in the immediate aftermath. It went in favor of Norris as Verstappen got a 10-second time penalty. However, Norris was forced to retire from the race soon and despite Verstappen’s penalty, he managed to finish P5, extending his lead in the Championship standings even further.
