Norris turns the page
“If he doesn’t admit he was unfair he will lose my respect”. Landon Norris hot on the heels of the Austrian GP, he had harshly criticised Max Verstappen after the collision that cost the McLaren driver his retirement (the three-time Red Bull world champion finished in fifth position).
At the press conference to present the British Grand Prix scheduled to start tomorrow at Silverstone, Norris he corrected the shot stressing that Verstappen’s apology was unnecessary – McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had called for it – and that he had made statements out of frustration.
“We’ve already reviewed the whole thing several times, I’ve learned a few things – said Norris – I expected a lot of things and I already knew them, but it’s still different because how much you fight with some riders is different compared to others, especially when you fight for the top positions compared to when you find yourself fighting for the backup positions. Max, then, has a way of racing that is different compared to the others, and this is also one of the reasons why he is a champion, but overall we reviewed everything and I’m excited to get back on track this weekend to be able to do a better job. How does Max race? Without going into too much detail on the way he races I think it’s clear how he races, there’s no need to talk about it. It’s tough and on the edge. I really enjoyed the whole fight with him and the battle on the track, it’s a shame, though, that it ended like this. Beyond that I think it’s clear how it went from the TV images and I can’t wait to race against him again this weekend. I spoke with Max, but I don’t think it was necessary for him to apologize. Some of the things I said in post-race interviews were more out of my frustration at the time.. There was a lot of adrenaline and a lot of emotion, but I said some things that I didn’t necessarily believe, and as the week went on I believed them less and less. It was quite a pathetic accident if you look at it and it ruined the race for both of us, also because there was no contact at very high speed. It was probably the lightest contact that there could have been between us, but the consequences were terrible for both of us, especially for me. I don’t expect him to apologise and I don’t think he needs to. I think it was a good race and a good battle, a little bit close to the limit at times, but we talked about it and discussed it and we are both happy to be back racing against each other. It’s obvious that Verstappen didn’t want to get into an accident because he wanted to win the race, for sure I can do some things differently, but I don’t think he will change too much and I don’t need to change too much either. We could have definitely avoided the accident, I could have done things differently, like using the kerb more for example.. It’s a speech that applies to both. An intervention by the FIA? Avoiding the accident with someone who is moving under braking is the main topic, because an accident can very easily arise from that type of behavior, so we all have to be very cautious from that point of view. It’s something I will have to keep in mind for the future, and maybe the stewards will have to be aware of this because something can happen in those cases. Defending yourself aggressively is fine, but there is a point where you have to draw the line, and I think that line needs to be defined in a better way. It’s difficult to say whether the penalty should be reviewed, sometimes people say it should be done, but we drivers are the first to say it shouldn’t be done. Sometimes you don’t want the consequences to be taken into account, while other times I think it should be done. It’s difficult to express an opinion because our accident was so minor that I don’t think the penalty should have been huge, if it had to be given. I was thrown out of the race and didn’t have the opportunity to win, while he was able to continue his race. In some ways it would be a good idea to take into account what happened, but understanding how much and in what way is complicated to say. It’s a topic we should all discuss together with the FIA, but it’s not easy to have a clear idea”.
#Norris #Retracts #Verstappens #Apology #Frustrated
