Lando Norris quickly backtracks over Max Verstappen as pair reignite rivalry at British GP
Lando Norris has offered his thoughts on last weekend's crash with Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris has stated that he no longer believes that Max Verstappen should apologise for his role in the pair's crash at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
The pair were battling for the lead of the race with just seven laps remaining when they collided at Turn Three. Norris suffered a puncture and so did Verstappen, although the latter picked up a 10-second time penalty for his role in the contact.
After the race Norris, who was unable to take the chequered flag as a result of the damage, was irate, insisting that his friendship with the Dutchman would be over without an apology.
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"I don't know, it depends what he says," he told Sky Sports F1 when asked about the future of their friendship. "If he says he did nothing wrong, then I'll lose a lot of respect for that.
"If he admits to being a bit stupid and running into me and being a bit reckless in a way, then I'll lose a small amount of respect for him.
“But it's still a tough one to take when you're fighting for the win. I'm trying to be fair from my side and he just wasn't. I don't know, that's all I'm thinking about. I don't care now, I'm just gutted for the team."
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However, no apology from Verstappen arrived with the Red Bull star instead suggesting that the blame should be shared between the two drivers and that they would talk about it before the British GP.
Ahead of his home race, Norris provided an update. "I don’t expect an apology from him, I don’t think he should apologize. We’ve spoken about it, we’ve talked about it, and we’re very happy to go racing again."
He later added: “It’s a tricky one. Max isn’t going to want to crash and ruin his own races and his own chances. Yes, there are definitely things I need to do slightly differently but in the end of it I don’t think he’s going to change too much, I don’t think I need to change too much.
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"Could we have avoided the crash? Definitely. I easily could have used more kerb but there’s things from both sides that I’m sure we both want to do better."
The pair will now do battle at the British GP in front of a bumper home crowd. With the gap between the two championship protagonists now standing at 81 points, the pressure is on for Norris to secure a strong haul at Silverstone.
