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Verstappen Refuses To Take Blame For Incident That Put Norris Out Of Austrian Grand Prix
F1Monday, 01 July 2024 at 16:00
Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen discussed his battle with Lando Norris after finishing fifth in the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
Both Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen wanted to score big in front of the home crowd in Austria, and the triple World Champion had the car and pace needed to do so.
However, an unfortunate series of events, including two long pit stops, a wrong strategy call, driver error, and a collision (resulting in puncture), meant that the 26-year-old ultimately crossed the finish line only in P5.
That's not the main talking point of the weekend, though. What people will remember and what is a heavily discussed topic on social media at the moment is the borderline battle between Norris and Verstappen.
The McLaren driver complained that the Dutchman moved from side to side under braking, which is something that is forbidden by the rules.
On the other hand, the Dutchman complained that Norris's dive-bomb attempts were also over the edge. They both avoided a couple of potential collisions, but in the end, they made contact on lap 64.
This resulted in punctures for both drivers but more extensive damage for Norris, who had to retire his car. While the majority of experts analyzing the incident suggested Verstappen was at fault, he refused to take the blame as he responded:
"Everyone can have their opinion, I'm the one driving, best in control! From the outside, it's easy to judge and comment."
"I felt like these divebombs. One time, he went straight. One time, I had to go around the sausage [kerb]. The shape of the corner provides these kinds of issues. It is what it is; it's never nice to come together."
The 24-year-old driver wasn't happy with how things played out and suggested that Verstappen was overly aggressive and desperate. The Dutchman suggested he would talk it through with Norris.
"I need to look back at how and why we touched. Of course, we'll talk about it. It was just unfortunate we touched."
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