Originally, the plot of the Austrian leg was the same as in the past few years, with Verstappen leading the way and having the last laugh and successfully winning the championship at Red Bull's home stadium. In last night's Austrian Grand Prix, when halfway through the race, the plot was the same. Verstappen was on the track by this time, having built up a lead of nearly 10 seconds, and the championship did not look too much of a suspense. But with Norris not giving up and starting to chase in the second half, as well as a few mistakes from Red Bull Racing during the Verstappen pit stop, and another small lock on the track, Norris quickly closed the gap to within a second and the suspense returned.
On lap 55, Norris launched an attack and Verstappen was suspected of changing lines while defending. On lap 64, Verstappen's car had a puncture, Norris's suspension was damaged, and a virtual safety car was revealed. Both Verstappen and Norris then pitted for tyre changes, with Norris receiving a five-second penalty and exiting the race due to damage to the car, while Verstappen received a 10-second penalty.
In the end, thanks to Verstappen and Norris, Mercedes' Russell crossed the finish line first to win the race, Piastri was second, Sainz was third, and Verstappen was fifth.
In his post-match media interview, Norris angrily criticized Verstappen's reckless behaviour. Norris said: "I'm disappointed! I was expecting a fair fight, but it wasn't! It's hard to accept! I felt like I did a good job, but I was taken away! The rules don't allow changing lines, but he changed three times! I just wanted to race, but he (Verstappen) ruined the game for the two of us! It's not my fault! There's nothing I can do if I don't follow the rules! Personally, I'll continue what I do! I'm happy with my efforts, so next up is Silverstone! If he doesn't admit it's his fault, then he's losing the respect I have for him. If he admits he's a little stupid, he can earn back some respect. ”
Judging from the official handling results given after the race, it was indeed Verstappen who was primarily responsible for the collision (the official penalty document reads: "Verstappen was on his left side as he entered Turn 3. Before the cornering maneuver, Verstappen leaned his car to the left, which caused a collision. The Dutch driver was deducted 2 points for his super license.
Verstappen didn't seem to care about Donorris's criticism of himself, and when a reporter asked Verstappen after the game, you are the frontrunner in the standings, you can completely avoid this accident and let Norris pass, instead of ignoring the rules and choosing to collide. Faced with questions from reporters, Verstappen said: "Yes, but I can also stay at home. I'm here to win, not to be runner-up. And when you fight for victory, I have to fight like this. Anyone else can think anything, I think I'm in good control and I think the other driver knows what he's doing. If anyone is radical, it can only be him. ”
Obviously, in the face of Norris's doubts and even criticism of his stupidity, Verstappen did not give face at all and chose to fight back hard, and the Dutch driver did not think that he had done anything wrong, and did not leave a step for himself and Norris at all.
As we all know, Verstappen and Norris originally had a good relationship (Norris often flies on Verstappen's private jets), and Red Bull Racing even wanted to make the two the strongest combination in F1 today, and now the two drivers collide like this, and blame each other in front of the media, the friendship between the two drivers is completely broken!!