"As a friend you never want to touch or crash": Max Verstappen reflects on his collision with Lando Norris in the F1 Austrian GP

Max Verstappen recently gave his broader opinion on his intense wheel-to-wheel battle with McLaren's Lando Norris at the 2024 F1 Austrian GP. The defending world champion talked about how much a driver should leave space and race hard to win a Grand Prix.

At the Red Bull Ring, Verstappen started the race on pole position, with Norris following closely behind in second. The Red Bull driver led the McLaren by several seconds for most of the Grand Prix, but the later part of the race saw a thrilling finish. With the aid of new medium tires, Norris was able to start pressing the reigning world champion, who was on old medium tires and making a sluggish pit stop.

After their second pit stop, the race was on between the two. Max Verstappen was having trouble maintaining his grip, and Lando Norris stayed up with him. The McLaren driver attempted to pass the Dutchman at Turns 1, 3, and 4, but the latter regained the lead on many occasions.

Norris attempted to pass Verstappen from the outside on Turn 3 on Lap 64 once more. Their vehicles collided severely since their cars were very close to one another. Both of them suffered a puncture, but Norris' car also suffered damage to its wings and front axle.

Following the impact, Norris was forced to withdraw from the race and was not awarded any points. Meanwhile, Verstappen managed to make one more pit stop and came in fifth place at the end of the race.

After looking at the footage and mulling over the entire incident, Max Verstappen explained his chain of thoughts after the collision and talked about whether or not he left enough space for Norris to pass him.

He also touched on how drivers usually race hard and do not give a lot of space to their rivals, especially if it is for a race win. The Red Bull driver then added that it was unfortunate that it happened between him and his good friend Lando Norris.

“When you are in the car you initially think 'have I done something wrong? Didn't I leave enough space...half a car width?' or whatever. I honestly think I did leave a cars width on the white line,” Verstappen said. (via @SCUDERIAFEMBOY on X)

“You race hard like I'm not there, you know, to give two cars width because then I know he's goint to get me on the exit. You race hard for a race win. As a friend you never want to touch or crash, but it happened today. At the end of the day, it's part of racing. I think we are both of course disappointed with the outcome,” he added.

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Max Verstappen's sharp comment about letting Lando Norris by for the race win

Max Verstappen had a strong response to an interviewer's question about letting Lando Norris by in the 2024 F1 Austrian GP.

Speaking to Canal+ after the race, Verstappen was asked whether he could have let Norris by since he was already leading the championship and the McLaren driver was about to get a penalty.

To this, the defending world champion replied that he could have stayed at home as well. He added that he was there to win the race and not finish second.

"I could also stay at home? I'm here to win, not to finish 2nd. When you're fighting for the win, why can't you fight in a hard way?" Verstappen said.

After the Austrian GP, Max Verstappen leads the drivers' championship with 237 points, while Lando Norris is in second place with 156 points.