04/07/2024
NEWS STORY
Lando Norris admits that demand for Max Verstappen to apologise for Red Bull Ring clash was made in the heat of the moment, as he claims the incident was "pathetic".
Proving that their bias doesn't simply run to election coverage, Sky, among others, will be incensed to see the McLaren driver not reading from the same script, as the media seeks to ramp up the potential for fireworks between the British driver and his 'foreign' (Dutch) rival... and what better location than Silverstone where the Red Bull driver clashed with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, kick-starting a series of incidents that culminated in the controversy of Abu Dhabi.
Speaking at race end last Sunday, Norris said he expected Verstappen to apologise for the clash, admitting that failure to do so could jeopardise their relationship.
However, seven days later, having cooled down, the McLaren driver has eased off on his demand for his rival to say 'sorry'.
"Honestly, I don't think he needed to apologize," said the Briton as the British Grand Prix weekend got underway. "Some of the things I said in the pen after the race was more because I was frustrated at the time," he admitted. "A lot of adrenaline and emotions, and I probably said some things I didn't necessarily believe in, especially later on in the week. It was tough.
"It was a pretty pathetic incident, in terms of what ended both of our races," he added. "It wasn't like a hit, it wasn't like an obvious bit of contact. It was probably one of the smallest bits of contact you can have, but with a pretty terrible consequence for both of us, especially for myself.
"I don't expect an apology from him," he insisted, "I don't think he should apologize. I thought it was, as a review, good racing. At times, maybe very close to the edge, but like I said, we've spoken about it, we've talked about it, and we're both happy to go racing again."
Indeed, the McLaren driver revealed that he and Verstappen have spoken of the incident twice since last Sunday in a bid to clear the air.
"It's clear how he races," said Norris. "It's tough, it's on the limit, and, yeah, I think it's what we love, it's what I love. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole fight I had with him. Of course, it was a shame things ended the way they did."
Looking ahead to this weekend, he said: "We've been very close the last few races, but Mercedes have been getting closer and closer. If you look back to last weekend, Mercedes were extremely quick, if not one of the quickest cars in the race.
"So they've taken probably a few steps forward since where they were. We're in a good position, but so are Red Bull. So yeah, expecting a close battle between many of us."