Max Verstappen opens up on the influence of previous on-track battles between other F1 drivers in him sorting things with Lando Norris

Max Verstappen believes his rapport with Lando Norris is different from others, which made it a unique situation on track. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the Red Bull champion felt that past friendship-turned-rivalries between drivers do not concern him.

Driver friends turned rivals in the past have included the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, and many more. Reminded that driver friendships haven’t lasted long, particularly on the track where they’ve battled each other for titles and victories, Max Verstappen felt it depended from individual to individual. In a way, Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were fierce rivals until their clash in Baku which was resolved behind closed doors and the duo became closest of friends.

Max Verstappen believes his bond with Lando Norris is different from others, which makes it important to clarify incidents and not let them ruin their friendship. He felt it was natural for the Briton to react aggressively to the incident on and off track. But he felt examples from the past did not concern him but clarifying the matter with the McLaren counterpart was of utmost importance. There was an overreaction to the incident particularly in the British media, where the Dutchman was criticized extensively. But the duo clearing the air hasn’t been underwhelming for those looking forward to a feisty and fiery battle.

Asked by Sportskeeda if past examples of driver friendship turned rivalries were a reason to set a different precedent, Max Verstappen said:

“Yeah, but every person is different, and every person, they react a bit different to things. And, of course, I have a good relationship with Lando. So I know, of course, how he is as well as a person. So that's what I focus on. Looking at the past; that has no interest to me.”

He explained:

“I think it also depends a bit on your personalities and I know of course that he's a great guy. You know, he's a really nice person who loves formula one. Of course he loves racing and he's just very passionate about it. Actually also after the race you know, you also have to probably really like he's fighting for a second potential win, I’m fighting for my 62nd win. I think naturally your emotions are a little bit different. Because I know that from myself, when I was fighting for these first wins in F1, but that's fine. That's why I also said, let's just let it cool off a bit and I will talk tomorrow.”

Asked if it was different with Norris compared to other drivers, Max Verstappen said:

“Of course, yeah, you have a closer relationship than others, and yeah, I get on really well with Lando, that's like for me also, you know, we are fighting naturally for wins this year, and I of course don't want that to ruin the friendship off track as well. Because that's definitely not what it deserves”

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Max Verstappen reckons clearing the air with Lando Norris was priority after the race

Max Verstappen reckons that he watched footage of the incident with Lando Norris, to clear the air. With some of the media and fanbase crucifying the Dutchman in the public domain, he felt that the criticism did not matter. The 25-year-old refrained from commenting on the incident or blaming it on anyone and believes that it was important to have a conversation with the Briton after the incident.

However, the Briton went on air to instigate some of the criticism that the Red Bull champion received by suggesting that he needed an apology to retain the friendship. On the other hand, the Dutchman defended his move on the British driver, which both agreed to on Thursday in Silverstone.

Asked if the criticism was undeserved, Max Verstappen said:

“Well, I don't give a sh*t about that, which yeah, I go home, I live my life and like I said, the only thing that I cared about is just my relationship to Lando.”

When told that he defended himself rigorously after the incident, the Dutchman replied:

“I just said that we have to just calm, let things cool off a bit. I mean, we'll look at the footage and that's what I did with Lando. That's the only one that I care about, because whatever anyone else said, that's not for me. I mean, everyone can have an opinion, but I only look at the relationship of things and my relationship with Lando, of course, in that case.”

Reminded that he denied moving under braking after the race and if it was still the case after viewing the footage, Max Verstappen said:

“Like I said, there is always a human reaction to stuff and people go on the outside or inside. This is not only me, this happens to everyone. This has also happened on a Saturday. Thats it.”

There has been a lot of analysis of the incident and enough onboard footage leading many to believe that it was no more than a racing incident. Many of the drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, defended Max Verstappen. The triple world champion currently leads the McLaren driver by 81 points and Red Bull Racing leads Ferrari by 64 points. Given the gains made by McLaren, it is likely to be close between Red Bull and its rivals at the Silverstone circuit. They are bringing a new floor to the Silverstone circuit to counter the performance deficit of their rivals.