MAX VERSTAPPEN'S PROMISE TO LANDO NORRIS IN PRIVATE PHONE CALL AFTER F1 STARS CRASHED

Max Verstappen has shared details of his clear-the-air phone call with Lando Norris after their furious Austrian Grand Prix duel ended in tears for both.

They were fighting hard for the lead of the race when they collided and both picked up punctures. Verstappen was penalised for causing the contact but still finished fifth, while Norris retired his car and demanded an apology from his rival.

Both told reporters at Silverstone, including Mirror Sport, on Thursday that they had spoken over the phone the day after the race. While Norris declined to share details of that conversation, Verstappen was happier to talk about what was discussed.

The Red Bull racer said: "I was saying, 'Lando, when you go for moves up the inside, the outside, you can trust me that I'm not there to try and crash you out of the way'... Same the other way around because we spoke about that as well."

With the British Grand Prix coming up this weekend, the timing of the clash couldn't have been worse from Verstappen's perspective. Already unpopular among Silverstone fans for his previous clashes with Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman is unlikely to get a warm welcome.

But he is adamant he cares neither about that, nor about what has been written about him in recent days. He said: "I don't give a s*** about that. I go home, I live my life and like I said, the only thing that I cared about was just my relationship to Lando. I've had [booing] already before, you know? So I just focus on the performance. Everything is cleared, which for me was the most important [thing] so we move on."

And Verstappen won't be changing his approach to future battles with his rival, adding: "We'll go at it flat out! That's what we agreed to, because that's what we like to do and that's what is good for Formula 1 as well."

Norris was also much calmer about the incident as he told a press conference that he no longer felt there was a need for Verstappen to apologise over the incident. The Briton said: "We've gone over things a few times. I've learned many things. I think a lot of stuff I was anticipating and knew about.

"You're fighting against different people, fighting in different ways at the top comparing to when you're a bit further back, like we have [been] the last year or so. But at same time, Max has a very different way of racing comparing to a lot of others, and that's some of the reasons why he's a champion. But, all in all, I'm excited to go again this weekend.

"Honestly I don't think he needed to apologise. I think some of the things I said in the pen after the race were more just because I was frustrated at the time. A lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotions. I probably said some things I didn't necessarily believe in, especially later on in the week. It's tough, it was a pretty pathetic incident in terms of what ended both our races."

2024-07-04T16:32:44Z dg43tfdfdgfd