Soon after Lando Norris and Max Verstappen collided in Austria, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko slammed the former for his comments on the team radio. The Austrian believed that Norris’ etiquette on his team radio was “pathetic”.
Surprisingly, Norris too admitted ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend that he made a mountain of a molehill in his post-race remarks and in the process took a sly dig at Marko. Ahead of this weekend’s race in Silverstone, Norris said during the presser,
“It was tough. It was a pretty pathetic incident in terms of what ended both our races. It wasn’t like a hit, it wasn’t an obvious bit of contact. It was probably one of the smallest bits of contact you could have but with a pretty terrible consequence for both of us, especially for myself. He doesn’t need to, I don’t expect an apology from him [Verstappen]. I don’t think he should apologize”.
Norris’ most recent remarks come in response to Marko’s claims that the Briton’s “behavior on the radio was pathetic“. The 81-year-old then concluded his remarks by stating that Norris “overstepped the mark” for what he believes was nothing more than a “racing accident”.
Verstappen Norris
Incredible scenes at the Red Bull Ring #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YvD0dg2TUH
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Now, Norris interestingly used similar words in his presser to what Marko had said but with a cheeky smile on his face. The McLaren driver’s most recent comments seem to suggest that he was taking a dig at Marko. Hence, while Norris may have calmed down now, he was furious, to say the least in the immediate aftermath of his incident with Verstappen.
Norris was ready to end his friendship with Verstappen
In his post-race interview after the Austrian Grand Prix, Norris slammed Verstappen and demanded an apology from the Dutchman. Norris claimed that if Verstappen did not apologize to him, then he may rethink about the friendship he currently shares with the three-time world champion.
And there was good reason for Norris to be furious. His collision with Verstappen ended his race while the Dutchman managed to salvage a P5 finish and scored 10 valuable points in the championship.
Since the #4 driver came out worse as a result of the duo’s collision, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was also undoubtedly furious. However, unlike Norris, Stella used some hyperbolic statements to claim why he believes that Verstappen was responsible for the incident.
Stella said, “The entire population in the world [knows] who is responsible – except for a group of people”. While Norris and Stella blamed Verstappen for the incident, the Dutchman unsurprisingly claimed innocence. Verstappen was adamant after the race that he was left with no space and that it was Norris who threw several dive bombs at him.
