Lando Norris ‘would lose a lot of respect’ if ‘stupid’ Max Verstappen does not admit fault

Lando Norris said he would ‘lose a lot of respect’ for Max Verstappen if the Dutchman claimed he did nothing wrong in their dramatic collision.

Having been battling for the lead in the previous laps, the pair came together in Turn 3 of the 64th lap in a move that sent Norris out of the race and Verstappen into P5. Visibly angry after the race, Norris admitted he would “lose a lot of respect” for his friend Verstappen should he not concede at least some of the blame.

Lando Norris reacts to Max Verstappen clash

Norris and Verstappen are known to be good friends off the track but that relationship was always likely to be tested at some point this season given how tight the battle for first appears to be.

The first real flash point between the pair came in Austria as fair racing spilled over and both lost a potential victory as a result.

Verstappen received a 10-second penalty as he was knocked down to P5 but it was Norris who suffered worse consequences of DNF and losing ground to the Dutchman in the title race.

Speaking immediately after the race, Norris said he was looking forward to a “fair battle” but ultimately that never came.

“I’m disappointed, nothing more than that,” he said. “Honestly, it was just a good race. I looked forward to just a fair battle, a strong fair battle but I wouldn’t say that’s what it was in the end

“So tough one to take, was a mistake free race from my side and I feel like I did a good job but I got taken out of the race.”

Before the incident, Norris was vocal over the radio that Verstappen was moving under braking, something outlawed in the rules, but the action ever came.

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“There’s a rule, you’re not allowed to move and that’s what he did. Three times out of three. Two times, I managed to avoid it and the third time he just ran into me.

“He ruined his race just as much as he ruined mine.”

Asked specifically about his friendship with Verstappen, Norris said he would “lose a lot of respect” if the Dutchman does not at least accept some blame.

“It depends what he says, if he says he did nothing wrong then I lose a lot of respect for that,” Norris said. “If he admits to being a bit stupid and running into me and just being a bit reckless in a way then I will lose a small amount of respect for him.

“But it’s still a tough one to take when we’re fighting for the win and trying to be fair for my side and he just wasn’t thinking about that.”

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