Verstappen To Continue Aggressive Tactics After Norris Incident, Says Horner

Red Bull chief Christian Horner does not expect Max Verstappen to alter his aggressive driving style following the controversial collision with McLaren's Lando Norris. The incident occurred during the Austrian Grand Prix, where they were vying for the lead before crashing seven laps from the end. Verstappen was penalised with a 10-second time penalty but managed to finish fifth, while Norris was forced out of the race, impacting his championship hopes.

Despite the drama, Horner believes Verstappen will continue his assertive approach. "Certainly, from Max's side, he's not going to change," Horner told Sky Sports News ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He suggested that Norris needs to adapt to racing against Verstappen. "There's an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they're discovering that," he added.

The crash allowed Mercedes' George Russell to secure victory. However, Horner does not anticipate Verstappen holding back in future races. "Max is a hard racer; he's probably one of the hardest racers on the circuit and everybody knows that if you're going to race against Max, he's going to give as good as he gets," Horner stated.

Many have criticised Verstappen for pushing boundaries in recent F1 seasons. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was among those who strongly condemned the Dutchman. Yet, Horner feels this criticism is unwarranted. "He raced incredibly hard in 2021; he's a tough racer," Horner said. "He hasn't really been racing anyone for two years because he's been out front so much."

The tension between Verstappen and Norris has been escalating over several races where they have competed closely. "The conflict between the two of them has been building over two, three, four races where they've been racing each other closely and hard," Horner explained. "At some point that was always going to spill over and it did at Turn 3."

Learning from Past Experiences

Verstappen acknowledged the incident on social media: "What started as a great weekend had an unfortunate ending. We'll analyse, learn from it, and go again next week." He thanked fans for their support around the track during the Austrian GP.

Horner also pointed out that Verstappen faced penalties in 2021 when he made mistakes, just like Lewis Hamilton did during their intense competition that year. "He was punished in 2021 if he did something wrong just as Lewis [Hamilton], who he was racing so hard that year, was for things he did wrong," Horner noted.

Reflecting on Stella's reaction, Horner remarked: "I think it's wrong and unfair to label a driver like that and I'm sure in the heat of the moment it was frustrating for Andrea, but that's just tough racing." He added that Stella should understand this well given his experience working with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari.

The upcoming races promise more close encounters between Verstappen and Norris as their cars are expected to perform similarly. Fans can look forward to intense battles on the track as both drivers push their limits.

The recent events highlight the competitive nature of Formula One racing where drivers constantly strive for excellence while navigating challenges and rivalries.