Lando Norris and Max Verstappen engage in war of words after dramatic collision at Austrian Grand Prix… as the Brit claims it could impact their friendship, while the Dutchman labels his 10-second penalty as ‘ridiculous’

The dramatic collision between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen during the Austrian Grand Prix has led to an exchange of words between the drivers and their teams.

Verstappen and Norris were locked in a fierce battle for top spot at the Red Bull Ring, with the Briton sitting on his rivals’ shoulders for much of the race as they complained about the other’s driving.

On lap 64, Norris, who was becoming increasingly frustrated, tried to overtake the Dutchman again, but Verstappen passed the McLaren driver and they collided.

Norris was forced to retire due to the damage to his car, while Verstappen was given a 10-second time penalty, which saw him finish fifth.

Mercedes’ George Russell took advantage of the drama and was on hand to take the second victory of his career on a thrilling afternoon.

And when Verstappen was informed about his punishment over the radio, Verstappen said angrily: “That’s just ridiculous.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: “He didn’t behave well there, Max, so you were unlucky,” before later telling Sirius XM: “It felt like [Norris] tried to cause something in turn three.’

Norris and Verstappen are good friends outside the beaten padel courts. They regularly play padel and go out for dinner together. However, the Briton lashed out at Verstappen and indicated that the clash could have consequences for their friendship.

“There are rules and if those rules aren’t followed, there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said.

“What I did today was easy enough for the win. I’m doing well and I’m happy with my effort. I can’t do more than what I did and I’m disappointed today.

‘Twice I managed to avoid him and the third time he just ran into me. I’m just trying to enjoy my race, he was clearly slower at the end and he ruined his own race as much as mine.

‘I can’t do anything anymore. I did my best and it wasn’t good enough, but not through my own fault.’

Norris continued, “I don’t know (if it will affect our friendship). It depends on what he says. If he says he didn’t do anything wrong, I lose a lot of respect for that.

“If he admits to being a little stupid, running into me and being reckless, I’ll have a little more respect. For my part, I tried to be honest.”

However, Verstappen defended his position before he was aware of Norris’s comments.

“I always move my wheel before I brake and then of course you brake in a straight line,” he explained.

‘It’s always easy to say I moved under braking, but I think the guy in the car knows best.

‘Everyone can have their own opinion, but I’m the one who drives. From the outside it is easy to judge and comment.’

The Dutchman also criticized Norris’ attempts to overtake him during the latter stages of the race, before hitting his own team.

“I sometimes felt like he’s diving and hitting the brakes so late,” he said. “I think it’s also just the shape of the corner that sometimes creates these kinds of problems.

‘It is what it is, but it’s never fun to get together. I have to look back at what and how we touched each other. Of course we will talk about it. It’s a shame it happened.

“This incident is just one thing. If you look at the race, we did so many things wrong, from our strategy to pit stops. We created it for ourselves. It became worse and worse to drive. We have to look inside the car.”

Meanwhile, Russell was, as expected, in a much better mood than Norris and Verstappen after his first win of the season.

During a speech in the cooling-off area, he joked to Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri that it was a ‘cool fight’ between Verstappen and Norris.

But Piastri, Norris’ team-mate at McLaren, replied: ‘Only because you won the race!’

Russell, who was third before the collision, also praised Mercedes’ efforts, saying: “The team did a great job to get us into this fight. You have to be there to sort things out and that’s where we were.”

“I couldn’t believe how close we were with Max and Lando, it was a possibility, you always dream about it, but like I said, you’re so proud to be on the top step again.

‘The team has worked so hard, they have made so much progress since the start of the season. The last two races have been incredible, so there will be more to come.”

The collision on lap 64 came nine laps after Norris made his first attempt to take the lead at Turn 3, but Verstappen put his Red Bull on top to stay ahead.

“He reacted to my move and you can’t do that,” Norris protested over the radio.

Three laps later, Norris was back. He launched his McLaren past the inside of Verstappen at the third corner but went into it too hard, and the world champion shot back before the next corner.

Norris was on the intercom again and was afraid of Verstappen’s tactics.

“He can’t keep moving when I move,” said the Englishman. ‘It’s just dangerous. We’re going to have a major shunt.’

With eight laps to go, an increasingly frustrated Norris tried to take the lead for the third time. Verstappen ran off the road in defense at the third corner and rejoined the track with his lead still intact.

“He has to give the position back,” Norris said. ‘I was in the lead at the top.’

Verstappen hit back over the radio. “He forced me to leave again,” the Dutchman said. “He just dive-bombed me. That’s not how you overtake.’

Both drivers’ warnings were ignored, leading to perhaps the most dramatic moment of the Formula 1 season so far.