Max Verstappen seeks talks with Lando Norris after rivals collide in Austria

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing after the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix PlanetF1

Speaking to media after colliding with Lando Norris during the closing laps of the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen reiterated multiple times that he and his McLaren rival will soon sit down and discuss just what happened.

What could have been a victory for either driver ended in tears as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris made contact in Austria, resulting in punctured tires for both racers. Now, as the British Grand Prix quickly approaches, it’ll be critical for the drivers to sit down and discuss just what happened at the Red Bull Ring.

Max Verstappen: ‘We’ll speak’

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

As Max Verstappen addressed the media, including PlanetF1.com, after the Austrian Grand Prix, he stated several times that he and Norris must speak in order to clear the air about what took place between them.

“We’ll talk about it,” the Dutch driver said of the incident.

“Not now, I think it’s not the right time. But y’know, we’re racing drivers.

“Of course, Lando and I have a little age gap —  that’s why we never really raced against each other in lower categories compared to some other drivers here, but yeah.

“We’ll move on from it.”

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Until this point, Verstappen and Norris have been decent friends, which can be a rarity thanks to the cutthroat nature of Formula 1.

But for Verstappen, this incident shouldn’t impact their relationship. When asked if it will be difficult to move on from the collision, he said, “It shouldn’t be.

“I mean, we’re all racing drivers. Of course you don’t want to crash into each other but when you are fighting for the lead, it’s always tough battles.

“It happened today which is of course a shame. I’m annoyed. He’s annoyed.”

He continued to say, “we’ll speak, but it’s not the right moment now. Better to cool down.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner referred to the collision as “inevitable” based on the way the two drivers have been racing, especially as McLaren closes the performance gap to the Milton Keynes team. However, Verstappen disagrees.

When asked if he felt a coming together was inevitable, Verstappen said, “You shouldn’t think like that.

“That’s also never how I thought about stuff.

“I’d say [in] close battles, sometimes these things happen, which you never want to happen.”