Lando Norris Exposes Himself as Pre-Austrian GP Promise Against Max Verstappen Surfaces

The curious case of Lando Norris vs. Max Verstappen‘s Austrian GP battle has a new twist. Post-race, the McLaren driver did not hesitate to blame his friend as the “one in the wrong” for their collision. Moreover, most of the F1 world criticized the Dutchman. But in a podcast recorded before the Austrian GP that was released today, Norris revealed his mentality after the duo’s Spanish GP tussle. With this admission, the 24-year-old has now dug his own grave.

Lando Norris upset Max Verstappen to take the Pole position in Barcelona. But the Dutchman got a better race start, threatening Norris’ P1 at the beginning itself. Under pressure, the McLaren driver pushed his friend onto the grass to protect his race lead. Fortunately, Verstappen didn’t spin out. But in the post-race press conference, the Briton wasn’t apologetic and defended his actions, claiming that he left enough space for his friend. This drew quite some laughter from Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton too, who’d seen the race-start footage of Norris’ aggression in the cool-down room.

In F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, the McLaren driver was questioned about this battle. Before addressing it, Norris first explained the build-up to this over the last year. “People don’t expect me to race him because there’s been times in the past (Brazilian GP 2023) where I’ve just let Max go,” he said on the matter, adding “Those have been the situations when he’s a second-a-lap quicker and I couldn’t care less about Max overtaking me. Those were races when I have not had to fight him,” he added, referring to 2023 when Verstappen had an unassailable lead.

“Since then, times have changed,” he elaborated. “We are fighting for a lot more. We are fighting everyone harder and in a better way. I still do what I need to do and be forceful when I need to be. I might’ve pushed him on the grass a little bit. It’s not easy to judge, and I didn’t want to put him in the grass. I wanted to squeeze him in, make him feel uncomfortable. He said he would’ve done exactly the same to me. So, it’ll go around and it’ll come around. But I’m ready to fight,” he concluded. But Norris seemed to have forgotten his own Spanish GP when Verstappen similarly squeezed him in Turn 3 in Austria.

The irony of the situation might now grow on fans. Norris’ first brush with a championship battle has been a reality check. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also declared how Verstappen is “not going to change” and Norris will need to toughen up. Could this mean that their friendship takes a sour turn?

Lando Norris doesn’t expect rivalry with Max Verstappen to end well

Max Verstappen has been in quite a few friendship-ending clashes with F1 rivals and teammates. The 2021 Lewis Hamilton battle was the most intense of them all. Though the two multiple world champions are on good terms now, that wasn’t the case when the championship battle was on. Similarly, Verstappen and Norris’ friendship now faces trial by fire. And the McLaren driver definitely doesn’t expect their relationship to stay the same, if history is any indication.

“I’ve not been in that position where things have changed because of racing situations and scenarios. (But) I’m going to say yes,” he confessed on Beyond the Grid, while continuing, “Because normally when you’ve seen teammates and you’ve seen people have these rivalries, it often doesn’t end well.”

The British GP will see the tables being turned, and right after Red Bull’s home race, Lando Norris’ home race will follow. Though the crowd sentiment might turn to favor their home hero, Verstappen will look for redemption after losing what could’ve been his eighth victory in 2024. What do you make of this? Let us know in the comments below.