Lando Norris says Lewis Hamilton of 2-3 years ago would “100% agree with Andrea Stella” over McLaren boss’ comments over Max Verstappen

Lando Norris has expressed his astonishment over Lewis Hamilton's disagreement with McLaren team principal Andrea Stella's statements regarding Max Verstappen's penalty in Austria. Stella compared the incident to Verstappen's clash with Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

The reigning Formula 1 World Champion, Max Verstappen, received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Norris during the Austrian Grand Prix. The incident occurred on Lap 64 at the Red Bull Ring, where Verstappen drifted left into Norris under braking for Turn 3. Both drivers sustained punctures, leading to Norris’s retirement, while Verstappen finished fifth.

McLaren's Andrea Stella weighed in on the penalty's leniency while speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the race:

“The entire population in the world [knows] who is responsible – except for a group of people. But the problem behind it is that if you don’t address these things honestly, then it will come back," Stella said.

“They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past, when there were some fights with Lewis that needed to be punished in a harsher way. Like this, you learn how to race in a certain way, which [is] fair and square.”

When Lewis Hamilton was queried about Stella's statements ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix, the seven-time World Champion disagreed with the Italian. He said (via GP Blogs):

"I don't agree with that."

Contrary to Hamilton's view, Lando Norris believed that the seven-time World Champion would have supported Stella's perspective in the past. Norris said:

"I'm sure Lewis would’ve agreed with it two years ago or three years ago. 100%. There were definitely certain things. There were definitely a few moments [that were up for debate at the time].

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Lando Norris stands firm with Andrea Stella's words

Norris expressed his support for Andrea Stella's comments about the incident with Max Verstappen.

"I'm always going to stand up for what Andrea said," Norris said. "I think Andrea's got a very good amount of sensibility with how he talks and things he talks about. So, definitely, I think certain parts are true. I do agree with Andrea."

Lando Norris also acknowledged the nuances involved in interpreting Stella's comments.

"But, yeah, certain things are always different when you're a little bit in the moment," Norris added. "Sometimes just clarification of how he says things. Because there's always certain things with how you pronounce things and stuff that might change too. But on the whole, I agree with what Andrea says."

Lando Norris remains Max Verstappen's closest rival in the F1 Drivers' standings following the Austrian GP. The Briton has 156 points to his name, courtesy of his maiden F1 victory in Miami and further impressive displays.

Verstappen, however, seems to be cruising to his fourth consecutive F1 World Championship. Having won 7 races so far, the Red Bull driver leads the drivers' standings with 237 points to his name.