Silverstone is amongst the oldest tracks on the F1 calendar. The circuit is famous for the Copse Corner and Maggots & Becketts. Lando Norris recently appeared on a podcast where he justified Lewis Hamilton’s mentality about the 2021 controversial crash at Copse, putting Max Verstappen’s argument to bed. What did Norris say and how did he dismiss Verstappen’s argument?
The 2021 British GP was the tipping point between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s rivalry. The two championship contenders collided at the Copse corner which is also Turn 9, when the Dutchman tried to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the outside. According to Max Verstappen, the Briton didn’t leave him any room on the outside of the corner. Maybe the 7X world champion could’ve seen Verstappen on the outside and taken more of an inside line.
However, Lando Norris dismissed Max Verstappen’s argument and justified Lewis Hamilton’s mentality as he explained what goes on inside an F1 driver while approaching Copse. According to the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, Lando Norris said “I mean it’s so quick that you almost have to commit and then find out what happens rather than the opposite. You try to anticipate things going at those speeds. Being able to react in that time is so difficult because it’s like 290-300 as you enter it, 8th gear.”
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Norris’s views could reopen healed wounds as it has been 2 years now since the infamous crash. So it is water under the bridge for Lewis & Max. Still, people would keep the debate going every year the two Titans race each other at Silverstone.
However, despite the brutal accident, every driver pushes on around the Silverstone circuit and Copse. There’s so much risk around the track. Lando Norris explains the risk around copse and what happened to Max Verstappen
Lando Norris explains the risks of crashing at Copse
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To explain the risks and consequences of crashing at Copse, Norris took the example of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s crash in 2021. The Briton touched Verstappen’s rear tire at 180+ miles per hour, sending the Dutchman flying toward the barrier after skimming across the gravel. Verstappen had to be taken to the hospital for checks, as it was a pretty severe crash. Norris advises that it was one of the biggest crashes in recent F1 history.
According to the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, Lando Norris says “But I feel the best description of it is if you see the consequence of when Max and Lewis came together. And how big of a crash that was for Max. And that’s you know after a slide, then you go through the gravel a bit, then you hit the barrier but still one of the biggest impacts you’ve seen in Formula 1 in a long time. So that when you see what it is doing.”
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What do you think? Who’s going to brave it around copse this year to gain those precious tenths?
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