Friendship and being racers are two words that don’t sit quite well with each other. Formula 1’s history is filled with stories of friends turning into bitter enemies after going wheel to wheel with each other. And former Ferrari boss Peter Windsor believes that Lando Norris and Max Verstappen know exactly how far they can stretch their friendship when it comes to racing. The topic of their friendship came into question after their recent battle at the Austrian GP where Verstappen and Norris collided after multiple laps of hard racing.
Windsor acknowledges that Norris and Verstappen may be good friends off the track, but refuses to believe that their friendship would reduce their intensity in the way they fight each other on track. The Australian journalist used the example of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to explain his point. Windsor said,
“Why would Carlos Sainz be friends right now with Charles Leclerc? He wouldn’t, because Charles has got the drive, Carlos hasn’t got the drive you know. He’s (Sainz’s) probably feeling a bit miffed about the whole thing. But, you know, they’re signing autographs together, doing whatever and the fans might say oh look at them, they’re getting on well but it’s all rubbish, of course. And if you don’t want to go out and beat everybody as soundly as you possibly can, then you shouldn’t be a racing driver”.
And Windsor’s assessment already seems to hold some weight after all. Following Norris and Verstappen’s collision at the Austrian GP, the Briton claimed that he may have to rethink about his friendship with the Dutchman if the Red Bull driver claims that he was not at fault for their crash.
Norris wants Verstappen to apologize for their crash in Austria
It was Norris who came out the worse after his battle with Verstappen as he had to retire from the race, and he wasn’t happy at all with how he was treated on the track. In his post-race interview, Norris was asked if this incident would affect his friendship and whether he would talk to Verstappen.
“If he admits to being a bit stupid, running into me, and just being a bit reckless, then I will have a small amount of respect for it,” Norris responded. “I expected tough, fair, respectful on-the-edge racing, and I don’t feel like that is what I got.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris says he will “lose respect” for Red Bull rival Max Verstappen if he maintains he did nothing wrong in their #AustrianGP collision.
Full story ⬇️https://t.co/VCh3rtTP0q
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) July 1, 2024
What’s interesting is that Verstappen and Norris didn’t take the same flight back home after the race like they usually do, as revealed by Red Bull Motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. “Norris’ comments that Max should apologize are not very helpful. But they will meet to talk things out,” Marko told oe24.at. “They usually fly together, but this time they were traveling separately. So Max had a quiet return flight.”
With the British Grand Prix this weekend, all eyes will be on Norris and Verstappen as fans will most likely be eager to see how they approach each other after a difficult moment in Austria this past weekend.
