Already on Sunday evening, Max Verstappen was heard saying that he did not want to start a new Formula 1 war. Four days later in Silverstone, he made it more than clear why he refrained from making any accusations against his opponent in the accident, Lando Norris: “All I wanted was to maintain my relationship with Lando.”
“We are good friends and that is why I said after the race that we should just let things cool down,” explains Verstappen. On the Thursday before the British GP, his mission is to explain to the numerous F1 media representatives who have turned up for his press conference, including Motorsport-Magazin.com clear.
Best friends Verstappen and Norris: Must not stop under any circumstances
“I definitely don’t want to ruin this friendship off the track, it doesn’t deserve that,” said Verstappen. Like Lando Norris shortly before in the press conference, he confirmed a discussion on Monday: “And I think we came to the conclusion that we actually had quite a bit of fun fighting.”
“We agree 99 percent, and that’s quite a lot,” says Verstappen. For him it is quite clear that he never intended to ram Norris. It was a mutual misjudgment within a few centimeters. “To be honest, it was such a stupid little contact, I didn’t expect the tire to come off.”
“It’s always easy to look back,” says Verstappen on the question of blame. “You can analyse everything, every single race of your career, and there are always things you can do better. That’s just the way it is. You’re not a robot. You’re not programmed to behave identically on every single lap.”
Simracers Verstpapen and Norris arrange to go to Austria
“I don’t think anything I did was massively over the top,” Verstappen is still certain. The difference from Sunday evening is that Norris no longer makes any accusations on Thursday, but mostly agrees with Verstappen’s verdict, speaks of good racing and sees no need for an apology from Verstappen.
“We like hard racing, and we have been doing it for years, not only in the Formula 1, but also in online races,” Verstappen recalls at this point. Sure, in the real world, 2024 will be the first time that the two will meet in comparable material. But as sim racers, they have already had numerous duels and therefore know each other’s behavior very well.
The fact that both accused each other of various offenses on the radio during the race is something Verstappen ignores anyway: “Look, you’re always only speaking for your own benefit. He did that, I did that. We all understand that.” Immediate outbursts of emotion are normal in sport. As four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel once said: Nowhere else, however, are the curses of athletes broadcast live on TV. A peculiarity of F1.
“You also have to remember that he is fighting for his second victory, I am fighting for my 62nd,” says Verstappen, not taking Norris’ additional outburst of frustration in the media directly after the race too seriously. “Of course your emotions are a little different. I know that from myself when I was fighting for those first victories. And that’s OK. That’s why I said let it cool down and then we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Screw the critics: For Verstappen, only friendship counts
“And of course I said to Lando: whether you stay on the inside or outside, you can trust that I’m not there to crash you out of the way,” Verstappen emphasises. “And the same applies the other way round. We talked about that too.”
For Verstappen, everything relevant is over. Criticism from fans or experts leaves him cold: “I don’t give a damn. Absolutely. I’m going home, I’m living my life, and as I said: the only thing that was important to me was my relationship with Lando.”
So the friendship in Silverstone remains intact, does not appear to have been damaged at all, and is ready for the next duel. “We’re going full throttle,” Verstappen is sure. “That was our agreement. Because that’s what we like, and that’s good for Formula 1 too.”