One of the biggest questions after the Austrian Grand Prix was whether Max Verstappen and/or Lando Norris would change their racing style after a dramatic collision in the final stages of the race wiped out both drivers’ chances of victory.
According to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, Verstappen would not change anything.
talk Sky Sports Speaking ahead of the British Grand Prix, Red Bull’s boss supported Norris’ approach but noted that future incidents between the two drivers were to be expected given their current performances.
“Certainly from Max’s side, he’s not going to change,” Horner said.
“There is an element of Lando learning how to race with Max and I think they are discovering that. In the coming races it will inevitably be closer racing between the two of them as the cars look to be very close in performance.”
“Max is a tough racer, probably one of the toughest racers on the circuit. Everybody knows that if you race against Max, he’s going to give it his all.”
Horner also addressed comments made by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella immediately after the race. Sky Sports F1 Analysts Ted Kravitz and Stella explained that in the past, race stewards have been reluctant to intervene, such as when Verstappen was battling Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 season, which led to moments like the accident in Austria.
Predictably, Horner had a different view.
“He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he’s a tough racer and he’s been at the top so he hasn’t raced anyone the last two years,” Horner said.
“The animosity between them had been building over two, three, four races of close, intense racing and you always knew it was going to explode at some point, and it did in turn three,” Horner said. “In 2021, if he does anything wrong he’s going to be punished, just like Lewis was punished if he did anything wrong that year when he was racing so hard.”
“I think it’s wrong and unfair to label a driver like that and it must have been frustrating for Andrea at the time, but that’s tough racing. He worked with Michael Schumacher. [at Ferrari] After all these years, he knows that better than anyone.”
In discussion with him Sky SportsHorner also answered another key question after the Austrian Grand Prix: “Did Norris and Verstappen discuss the incident?”
According to the Red Bull boss, that conversation has already taken place.
“I understand they’ve already spoken to them so I don’t think there’s any problem,” Horner added.
How the two drivers handle similar battles in the future will be a big storyline throughout the rest of the 2024 season, but one thing is clear:
The schedule for the FIA press conference for this weekend’s British Grand Prix has yet to be announced, but it could be interesting.
