Silverstone (England), July 3 2024-
The ripple effects of what transpired in the final ten laps of the Austrian GP is expected to be on full display at the Silverstone Grand Prix this weekend.
Three time World Champion, Max Verstappen and the only man who has shown any kind of threat to the Dutch, Lando Norris made contact at the Red Bull Ring which resulted in Norris having to retire the car.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has made comments on the event and how Verstappen will react this weekend stating “he is not going to change”.
“I understand they’ve (Max and Lando) spoken already, I don’t think there is any issue Certainly, from Max’s side, he’s not going to change. There’s an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they’re discovering that. Inevitably, there is going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close over the forthcoming races,” said Horner to Sky Sports.
Norris won his first ever race at the Miami Grand Prix earlier in the season and has constantly finished in the top three.
Mclaren as a team has drastically improved this season to the extent that Verstappen himself admitted that Red Bull may not be the fastest car on the circuit anymore.
Norris and Mclaren know that Red Bull is in a vulnerable position but they have failed to capitalise on their advantage as the team should be winning races more often and will hope Lando’s home race at the British Grand Prix falls in his favour.
“Max (Verstappen) 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. I’m sure it’s going to be a partisan crowd for the British drivers as it is for Max in Holland, but I think whenever we go to those tracks there is always respect for the other drivers,” Horner added.
Verstappen has a comfortable lead in the drivers championship with 237 points to his name. Lando being his nearest competitor sits at 156 points, a gap which widened when Lando was forced to retire his car.
“He’ll have his head down and he won’t change. He’s the racer he is and I’m sure he’ll race just as hard this weekend,” concluded the Red Bull team principle. (Agency)
