Ex-F1 team boss claims Lando Norris should’ve been prepared to fight ‘bear’ Max Verstappen over Austrian GP clash

Eddie Jordan reckoned that Lando Norris needs to be ready to battle against Max Verstappen on-track.

Ex-F1 team boss claims Lando Norris should’ve been prepared to fight ‘bear’ Max Verstappen over Austrian GP clash

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a collision in the closing stage of the Austrian GP which resulted in latter’s retirement from the race. Verstappen didn’t let Norris overtake easily, causing a collision between them and puncturing both of their cars.

Ex-F1 team boss and team owner Eddie Jordan gave his opinion on the battle between top runners of Austria. He described Max Verstappen as a fierce competitor, comparing him to a bear. Jordan highlighted, anyone facing the Dutchman must be prepared, understand that they must be strategic in their approach. Jordan believed that the incident between Verstappen and Lando Norris during the race could have been easily avoided if better tactics had been used.

Max is a fighter, he's a bear. And before you get in the ring with a bear, you have to make sure you're prepared for it, to go one side and the other side to then play this. The actual incident itself could have been so easily avoided.
Eddie Jordan said
YouTube video

Further, Jordan explained that in racing, just like on the road, the person in front has the right of way. If any driver is leading the race, they’ve earned that position through their skill in qualifying and strategy or their speed. The race leaders have the right to defend their position and the driver who’s trailing behind has the responsibility to figure out how to overtake without causing an incident. The attacking driver must find a safe space to get past the leader, keeping in mind that the leader has also earned the front of the race.

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When you're defending and in the lead, it's no different to the road rules that the person in front of you has the right of way. He has propelled himself to the front, through qualifying, guile or racing speed, he's leading the Grand Prix. The guy behind has to find a way around it.
Eddie Jordan added

David Coulthard says penalty to Max Verstappen doesn’t made a difference where he finished the race.

Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard commented on whether the stewards made the right decision on the incident between McLaren and Red Bull. He pointed out that Verstappen definitely pushed Norris towards the edge of the track. Coulthard added that if there had been a barrier there, both cars would have likely crashed into it. The 53-year-old also mentioned, the three time world champion might argue that Norris could have moved further onto the kerb to avoid the situation. However, DC’s main point was that the Dutchman’s actions were aggressive and left his rival with very little room, which could have resulted in a dangerous situation.

Max definitely crowded Lando across the track. If there'd been a barrier there then they both would have ricocheted off it. I completely get that Max will say, 'Well, hang on a minute. He could have gone further over the kerb'.
David Coulthard said, as reported by RacingNews365
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Coulthard observed that the stewards reviewed the incident thoroughly, using more information than the viewers might had. They decided to give Max Verstappen a penalty for his actions. However, The 53-year-old pointed out that this penalty did not affect Red Bull’s final position in the race. Despite being penalized, Verstappen still finished in the same place, so the penalty had no impact on the race outcome. The 26-year-old started first but after the crash, he ended up finishing the race fifth.

But the stewards have looked at it, they've got more information, they've given a penalty to Max, and ultimately it doesn't make a difference to where he finished in the race.
David Coulthard added

Certainly, David Coulthard reckoned that Verstappen pushed Norris to defend his position, but this incident could have been worse than what happened. Fans enjoyed the intense battle between the top runners. However, they were disappointed as Austria was Red Bull’s home race and they did not achieve the expected outcome.

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