Is the Max Verstappen-Lando Norris bromance over? F1 Austrian GP talking points

A summary of the key talking points from inside🐽 the Spielberg paddock following the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.

(L to R): Second placed Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren with pole sitter Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing in qualifying parc
(L to R): Second placed Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren with pole sitter Max Verstappen (NLD) Red…

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lando Norris’ dramatic late collision paved the way for George Russell to claim an unlikely win for Mercedes at the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.

F1 edi𒁏tor Lewis Larkam rounds up his🍎 takeaways from being on the ground at the 11th round of the 2024 season…

Can Max Verstappen and Lando Norris stay friends?

Locked in a fierce, no-holds-barred duel for the lead of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, some hard racing🐷 between Verstappen and Norris finally resulted in a🀅 collision.

The coming together angered McLaren and drew comparisons to the titanic battles between Verstappen and Lꦇewis Hamilton during their blockbuster ൩title fight in 2021.

It marked the first time that Verstappen and Norris 𝐆had properly clashed in wheel-to-wheel combat. But following close scraps in Miami, Imola, Canada and Spain, there was a feeling of inevitability about the crash.

“I think it’s inevitable, [given] how clo♔se they’ve been racing the last few weeks☂. It’s a shame,” was Red Bull team principal Christian Horner’s summary of the incident.

Norris hit out at Verstappen’s “reckless” and “desperate” driving following thဣe clash which wrecked both their races, and said he expects an apology from the three-time world champion.

"If he says he did nothing wrong, then I'll lose a lot of resp🌸ect fo🧔r that,” the 24-year-old Briton told Sky Sports F1.

Verstappen and 🔯Norris are good mates. They often enjoy padel together and share flights to races. So will this first real flashpoint between the pair test their friendship?

“Maybe they won’t play padel tomorrow, but I’m sure they’ll talk about it,” Horner concluded. “They’re two hard racers, they’ll talk about things openly, I💛’ve got no doubt about that.

“Inevitably friendships are put under pressure when🧜 you’re competing hard.”

Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL38, both with punctures after colliding.
Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL38, both with…

Mercedes soon to be fighting for wins on merit?

Russell capitalised on the drama between Verstappen and Norris to ๊claim an unexpected first victory of the season for Mercedes, and the team’s first win since 2022.

Mercedes have been making encouraging progress in recent races amid an 🦄aggressive development push, but the Silver Arrows have largely been challenging for the final spot on the podium, rather than victories, of late.

Toto Wolff could not pretend the win was achieved on merit and even joked that Mercedes currently “need two to crash at the front to win at the moment”. Nevertheless, he is buoyed by Mercedes’ upward trajectory and is confident the team will reach a point where they are fighting for victories on pure performance 💟before the end of the current campaign.

“On pace, we were the third-quickest car,” Wolff told media including on Sunday. “And we’ve been this way the l🅠ast three weekends and that is very encouraging to see that upward trend and the consolidation of the trend.

“There’s certainly big momentum now in the team to go to a point where we are a🐬ble o♑n real performance to fight for the win. And I think we will be.”

Race winner George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 celebrates with the team after the race. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd
Race winner George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 celebrates with the team after the race…

Should Sergio Perez’s form be worrying Red Bull?

Austria provꩵed to be another 🙈weekend to forget for Sergio Perez.

After starting 2024 with four podiums in the opening five rounds, the Mexican has failed to reach the rostrum since - partly due to a string of underwhelm𒈔ing qualifying displays.

Perez finished 17 seconds behind Verstappen in Saturday’s 23-lap sprint race and could only qualify seventh for Sunday’s grand prix, nine tenths do𒀰wn on his teammate.

He then endured a miserable run to seventh in the main race. Perez was beaten to sixth in the closing stages by Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, and finished 17 seconds behind Verstappen, despite the Dutchman’s various dramas (including a 10-sec▨ond time penalty).

Horner once again moved to defend 🐟Perez, who was recently handed a fresh two-year contract, amid increasing question marks over his recent form. The Red Bull team boss revealed Perez lost “a big hole” in the sidepod of his RB20 after first-lap contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and stressed the damage severely hampered his straight line speed.

Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB20. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, Austria,
Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB20. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, Austrian Grand…

Alpines clash again as Haas grab big result

The Alpines came to blows once again at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Pierre Gasly left feeling aggrieved after claiming h🔥e had been pushed off the track by teammate Esteban Ocon in the early stages.

"What the ***? What was that? Why did he just run m🅺e off the track!” G🤡asly cried over team radio after their Turn 3 tangle.

The pair were able to keep it clean in a later wheel-to-wheel battle as Ocon went on to claim th🐎e final point on offer for the steadily-improving Freﷺnch outfit.

Alpine’s midfield rivals Haas scored their biggest result of the season to date as Hulkenberg brilliantly pipped Perez to sixth, while teammate Kevin Magnussen came home eighth for a total of 12𒐪 points.

Only the second double points haul of the season has seen the American outfit ꧙leapfrog Alpine into seventh place in the constructors’ championship. Haas went into the Austria weekend a point behind Alpine but now find themselves 10 ahead - and just 11 behind RB.

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 and Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 battle for position. Formula 1 World
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 and Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A524 battle for…

Carlos Sainz future takes a twist

It emerged over the Austrian Grand Prix w𝕴eekend that Carlos Sainz’s future has taken a fresh twist, with report𝔉s linking the Spaniard with a possible switch to Alpine.

The outgoing Ferrari driver is understood to have firm offers alr𝔉eady on the table from Williams and Sauber, but Autosport and The Race both reported that Alpine have now made a late bid for his services for 2025.

According to The Race, Sainz has delayed a decision about which team to join next season because “Alpine has told him it cou🐓ld become a Mercedes customer” in 2026. The report goes on to claim that the “situation changed after Renault recruited Flavio Briatore as executive advisor and started to weigh up whether to abandon its works engine programme”.

Sainz is the key to how the rest of the 2025 driver market will unfold, but it seems what appeared to be a straight choice between jusꦫt two teams has just been made more complicated.

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, Austria, Race Day. -
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, Austrian Grand Prix,…

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