David Coulthard gives Lando Norris reality check with advice after Max Verstappen clash
Lando Norris has been given a stark warning about Max Verstappen following their controversial collision as they battled for the lead at the Austrian Grand Prix
Lando Norris has been warned ‘hell will freeze over’ before Max Verstappen ever apologises.
The F1 mates were involved in the biggest on-track flashpoint of the season so far in Austria last weekend. The pair collided as the British driver tried to overtake the world champion on lap 64.
Verstappen was deemed at fault for the incident and was hit with a 10-second penalty, but still managed to come home fifth as George Russell took victory for Mercedes. However, Norris’s McLaren suffered race-ending damage.
After the race, a furious Norris called for his pal to apologise and questioned whether their friendship would survive the clash. However, the 24-year-old has emphatically been told he’ll never get a ‘sorry’ from the hard-charging Dutchman.
“Hell freezing over, I think is the expression,” former Red Bull driver David Coulthard told Channel 4. “Max is going to go ‘I was racing – it’s hard racing’. This is the first time Lando is experiencing going wheel-to-wheel [with Verstappen] on a weekend-in, weekend-out basis.
“We know how it was when it was Lewis [Hamilton in 2021] who was going wheel-to-wheel with Max. Max is one of the hardest racers. To beat him you’ve got to match him.”
Since Austria, Norris’s stance has softened. Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, he conceded it was a racing incident and that there was no need for Verstappen to apologise. He said: “Some of the things I said after the race was because I was frustrated. There was a lot of adrenaline, lot of emotions and some of the things I said I don’t necessarily believe in.
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“He doesn’t need to apologise and I don’t expect an apology [from him]. It was a pathetic incident in that it ended both of our races. It was a small bit of contact, but with terrible consequences for both of us, especially for myself.
“Yes, I complained and said certain things on the radio, just as every driver would. But we don’t want to take away wheel-to-wheel racing and have too many rules.
“I have overreacted in a way, but clarity over certain things is what is needed. It was good racing, at times close to the edge, but we have spoken about it and we are happy to go racing again.”
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