Lando Norris wasn’t happy with Max Verstappen‘s driving at the Austrian Grand Prix.
When they collided on lap 64, both got punctures. Norris had to quit the race, but Verstappen still managed to finish in fifth place despite a penalty.
Norris Defends His Moves
After the race, Norris shared his thoughts on Verstappen’s moves: “A little bit of movement is always going to happen. But he’s completely reacting to what I was doing. And once you’ve committed so aggressively on the brakes, you don’t leave room for getting off and allowing a bit more space in the middle of a braking zone. Once you’ve committed, you’ve committed. And he would move, which forced me to move. And therefore I would lock up or do something.”
The race was intense from the start. Norris had an eight-second lead but lost time due to a slow pit stop by Red Bull, narrowing his advantage over Verstappen to just two seconds. With fresher tires, Norris aimed for victory.
Norris tried several times to pass Verstappen but couldn’t get through as Verstappen defended well. He made two daring attempts at Turn 3 that almost led to crashes as Verstappen moved unpredictably under braking. On lap 62, an outside move by Norris resulted in contact when Verstappen blocked him again under braking.
Fans might think this rivalry adds excitement to races.
“I couldn’t control those situations,” said Norris about the incident. “My moves were fair until I had to react in the middle of braking zones. You can’t just adjust grip when you’re already on edge.” He added that if drivers can’t make these moves safely, more crashes will happen: “I’m happy with what I did and wouldn’t change anything.”
What do you think? Should drivers be allowed more freedom or should rules be stricter?
