IIn a surprising turn of events, the younger of the two Mercedes Brits, George Russell, clinched an unexpected victory in the picturesque Spielberg hills at this weekend’s Austrian GP. The race took a dramatic twist when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, locked in a fierce battle for the lead, collided, causing both to miss out on crucial points and paving the way for Russell’s win.
Max Verstappen comfortably out-qualified the rest of the grid on Saturday and his dominance translated to the race start. However, an unusually slow pitstop by the Red Bull crew has put McLaren’s Lando Norris on the Dutchman’s tail in the closing stages of the Grand Prix.
Norris has already been active on the radio, expressing his frustrations with Verstapen’s late movements, while Verstappen felt Norris was overly ambitious with his “dive bombs”.
When Lando Norris, once again, attempted to overtake Verstppen’s Red Bull at the turn 3 braking zone, around the outside, the two friends touched with their rear wheels, both sustaining punctures.
Lando Norris retired while Max Verstappen finished the race in fifth. As George Russell was running in third, the gates opened for him to cruise towards an unexpected win, ending Mercedes’ win draught.
Shortly after, Max Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision with Norris. Despite the penalty, Verstappen retained his fifth position.
It was not too long ago when Max Verstappen was seen genuinely happy for Lando Norris’ first win, despite the Briton beating Verstappen on that day. Whether influenced by being on Red Bull’s home turf or a belief that one McLaren victory this season was sufficient, Max Verstappen desperately defended his position.
Pundits and former drivers seem to have sided with Lando Norris, agreeing with him that Max Verstappen has indeed moved under braking.
Lando Norris expressed deep disappointment, feeling the racing was not fair. During a sky sports interview, the young Brit expressed that he lost a bit of respect for his Dutch friend today and hoped he would take accountability for today’s incident.
While it offered an exciting show and rivalry is expected between the front runners, hopefully, these two drivers can work the animosity aside and avoid a repeat of Nico vs Lewis.
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