Lando Norris flips at Max Verstappen as tempers flare in Austrian Grand Prix pit lane

Lando Norris was left frustrated by rival Max Verstappen after the pair nearly clashed in the pit lane at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was noted for the incident with his counterpart, who accused him of an 'unsafe release'.

Verstappen defended well off the line, leading comfortably after the opening lap, and Norris was unable to reply. The Dutchman opened up a lead of over five seconds before coming in to discard his medium compound tyres.

Norris followed his rival in but given the size of the gap between the pair, Verstappen was leaving the box while the McLaren driver approached his. As they converged, the Brit was forced to slow down to avoid contact.

The McLaren man was far from impressed with the close call, dialling into the team radio to protest to race engineer Will Joseph that Verstappen "launched right into me".

The FIA stewards also felt that the incident was worth a review, noting the possible 'unsafe release' before upgrading their involvement to an investigation. However, after a handful of laps, they declared that no further action was necessary.

As the second stint played out, Verstappen extended his advantage over Norris, who had previously complained that he was struggling with his MCL38 machine.

There was less to celebrate for Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate though. Sergio Perez was unable to find a way past Oscar Piastri on his opening stint and then picked up a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

A couple of other big hitters picked up penalties during the early stages of the Austrian GP. Fernando Alonso collected a 10-second penalty for a kamikaze move on Zhou Guanyu, while Lewis Hamilton's trip over the white line on pit entry earned him a five-second one.