Verstappen dismisses critics, not friendship with Norris

Following his dramatic clash with Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen made clear where his priorities lie, and they aren’t with his critics.

The on-track battle between Verstappen and Norris at the Red Bull Ring was a tense one. Both drivers were vying for the lead on Lap 64 when they collided at Turn 3, effectively ending their chances of victory and paving the way for a surprise win by Mercedes' George Russell.

For Norris, the outcome of his battle with his rival and friend was a bitter blow, not only because of his DNF but also because his felt that Verstappen’s defensive tactics had been “reckless and stupid”, and very much against the rules, as his 10-second penalty for “causing a collision” would confirm.

However, speaking at Silverstone on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Norris had softened his stance, conceding that both drivers could have likely done more to avoid the costly run-in.

Heavily criticized by the media after last Sunday’s for his overly aggressive defense against Norris, Verstappen was clearly unfazed by the wave of negative reviews judging his driving.

Read also:

• Norris reins in Austria frustrations: ‘No need for Max to apologize’

“I don’t give a shit about that. I go home, I live my life,” he said, with a defiant shrug.

“The only thing that I cared about is maintaining my relationship with Lando, because we are great friends.

“After the race, I said we have to just let things cool down because emotions run high,” he added.

“We immediately spoke on Monday, and I think we came to the conclusion that we actually really enjoyed our battle.

“We were both, of course, we looked at the incident, it was such a silly little touch that of course had great consequences for both of us, and a bit more for Lando with how the puncture then evolved. But we like to race hard.

“We’ve done this for many years, not only in Formula 1. Even in online racing where we’ve had a lot of fun together, and these things, they have to carry on because that’s what we like to do, and I think it’s great for Formula 1 as well.”

Verstappen stated that Norris and himself mostly agreed on how their on-track battle unfolded, despite their collision. The Dutchman also suggested that calculated risk-taking is necessary to be a top driver.

“We agreed with 99% of everything,” he explained. “That’s a lot I think already.

"Naturally I said to Lando, when you go for moves up the inside, outside, you can trust me that I’m not there to crash you out of the way. The same the other way around, because we spoke about that as well.

“Naturally there’s always a human reaction when someone dives up the inside or outside, that you have a bit of a reaction to it.

"But I felt everything that I did was nothing massively over the top. Of course like how you design the car, you try to go to the edge of the rules.

"Maybe you find some grey areas here and there. And that’s the same how you race. Otherwise you will never be a top driver and you will never succeed in life anyway.”

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