GPDA to Discuss Verstappen-Norris Crash at Silverstone Meeting
Jul.3 - Alex Wurz, president of the Formula 1 drivers' union, says Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' highly-contentious crash in Austria will be discussed during the GPDA meeting at Silverstone ahead of the British GP.
Fellow former driver Johnny Herbert was one of the stewards on duty at the Red Bull Ring, who justified the penalty levied against Verstappen by declaring "It was Max's fault".
"He intimidates everybody," Herbert, a former teammate of Michael Schumacher's, told Coinpoker. "Lando did the right thing. He did not move. He did not have to."
Red Bull's F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko, however, has been harshly criticising Norris' "pathetic" reaction to the incident this week.
"In the future, he should consider that it might be a smart option to finish a race instead of taking incalculable risks," he told f1-insider.com.
Former AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost agrees: "Does Norris seriously believe that Verstappen will put on his indicators because it's Norris and allow himself to be overtaken so easily?"
A side issue is whether Norris and Verstappen's friendship can be repaired. "I understand they've already talked," team boss Christian Horner said.
"Of course, Max won't change," the Red Bull chief added. "I think Lando is learning to race with Max and they're discovering it together."
Horner's McLaren counterpart Andrea Stella, meanwhile, thinks the FIA might need to clamp down harder on Verstappen's on-track behaviour in order to avoid a repeat of the ultra-controversial 2021 title battle between Max and Lewis Hamilton.
"I understand what he means," Grand Prix Drivers' Association president Wurz told motorsport-magazin.com, "and it's clear that we're going to have to talk about it.
"But I would warn against too many extra rules. We shouldn't divide every fight into commas and full stops. Then the sport becomes too much governed by the rules and descriptions of situations," said the Austrian.
"I always come back to: Let them race. It's exactly what the public wants to see. You can see that drivers can also get grumpy or hot-heated, but in the end the one who can keep the coolest head wins.
"Next time, both of them will think a bit more about needing to reach the finish-line. But this whole story has a history and it is far from over," 50-year-old Wurz continued.
"I would have preferred that they could have fought hard together in the following laps, but they touched each other - so now we have enough to discuss."
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I still side Stella the most on this matter.
It’s sad but entirely predictable that MV would return to type as soon as he has real competition. Sad because he has been indoctrinated and intimidated by his father all his life and he has enough natural talent not to need to resort to cheating. He could be ten times the man his father is but he needs to see the light and distance himself from his fathers narcissistic influence.
Lando et all don’t lower yourselves to the Verstappen’s level in the heat of the moment.
NB
watch LH on Hot ones on YouTube.
What's there to talk about? Max put out his elbows, and contact was made. He's responsible, and got the 10 second penalty. Issue is now closed.
The last thing F1 needs right now are even more silly regulations. There are far too many as-is.
If you want to make it a level playing field, get rid of the DRS. The DRS is a stupid intervention and doesn't improve the racing at all. Rather, it takes away from the build-up to an earned overtaking move. Harken back to the Senna / Mansel or Schumacher / Hill duel's that were electrifying to watch.
Mansel had his own Drs thats for certain, a monster of a driver, agreed issue closed move on , all Max will want is to win the WDC as quick as he can and Rb , the WCC
Verstappen went to far and has been penalyzed for it.
Norris just needs to be smarter when he wants to overtake Verstappen next time...
I would have thought that Lando would realise Max's modus operandi is to win at all costs, even if that means punting a challenger off the track!
IMO, being so far ahead on points, Max should be playing percentages. He doesn't need to win every race to win the 2024 WDC. It's not very clever to damage the car and finish in 5th when he could have gained more points by finishing 2nd to Lando!
Max isn't a smart driver, he just thinks win or lose. To Max, 2nd place is first loser! This is his greatest weakness but it is also his biggest strength, unfortunately.
He is the best driver in the field at the moment and that is because he pushes himself and the car for the win every time. If he's not winning he doesn't care too much if he's 2nd or 20th.
Surely the point is that Verstappen was moving in the braking zone before the crash and didn't get any sanction for it. Lando complained about the movement and forecast a possible crash on team radio - and he was right. In the event, the penalty did not match the effect of the offence - but that's been an issue in F1 for forever.
Where was this outrage when Hamilton clipped MV into a wall at 51gs? No heavy discussions about how ruthless Lewis can be especially when “ his” championship was on the line. Short term memory? If you watch Lewis, he isn’t the clean driver he purports to be, he just says he is.
The LN/MV was resolved, penalties were issued, move on. Nobody was injured, except LNs car and he caused it by driving back to the pits, when common sense should have been to park it. He already lost the race with track limits violations. BTW, yes Max wants to win every race, that is why all 20 racers are driving in the GP. Even Lando isn’t happy coming in second. Max is the contemporary Schumacher, which everyone speaks in hushed tones, same with Senna. Neither of which wanted to be happy coming in second, btw, not to mention, they were “dirty” drivers as well.
Susan , but that is Sir Lewis, the beneficiary of Brixworth brilliance x 6 or 7 yrs , surely we cant have a go at him, infact everyone should listen to Sir Lewis and be just like him,Senna and Schumi deffo, Mansell cant remember him ever being a dirty driver