02/07/2024
NEWS STORY
McLaren boss, Andrea Stella claims that Max Verstappen's clash with Lando Norris was the direct result of leniency shown to the Dutchman during the 2021 title fight.
That year Verstappen had numerous clashes with title rival Lewis Hamilton, most notably at Silverstone and Monza, culminating in one of the sport's darkest episodes at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
A clearly angry and frustrated Stella, speaking in the moments after the Austrian Grand Prix, insisted that Verstappen's approach to his racing is the direct result of the sport's failure to act on previous occasions.
"I see that the entire population in the world know who is responsible, except for a group of people," He told Sky Sports, clearly referring to Red Bull, who were busy protesting the Dutchman's innocence.
"The problem behind it is that if you don't address these things honestly, they will come back," warned the Italian. "They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past when there were some fights with Lewis Hamilton.
"That needed to be punished in a harsher way," he insisted. "Then, you learn how to race in a certain way, which we can consider fair and square.
"The fact is that we have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max. They don't need to do this. This is a way to almost compromise your reputation.
"Why would you do that?" he sighed. "It's about racing within the regulations which must be enforced in a way that is effective. Because when a car is out of the race, as a consequence of this accident, the punishment needs to be proportionate to the outcome.
"We had it before, twice, moving under braking. So I think it's just evident we have to enforce the way to go racing because we want to have fun. We want to enjoy."
The Italian is also of the opinion - Norris' time penalty aside - that had the McLaren driver passed Verstappen for the lead, he would not have simply left the Red Bull in his wake, despite his obvious pace.
"Even if Lando would've passed Max, it could be that Max with DRS effect, which is very large, he could have been in position to attack Lando again.
"So, actually I think we were prevented from looking at a pretty exciting final part of the race because I am not sure Lando would've gone away. I think the fight would've gone to the chequered flag. It is a shame as we'll never know."
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Red Bull Ring here.