Helmut Marko claims Max Verstappen and Lando Norris ‘went over the line’ in ‘very tough’ Austrian GP duel

Helmut Marko shared his thoughts over Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' clash at the Austrian GP.

Helmut Marko claims Max Verstappen and Lando Norris ‘went over the line’ in ‘very tough’ Austrian GP duel

Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Helmut Marko (Via: Imago)

On lap 64 of the Austrian GP, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris went wheel to wheel against each other. Verstappen didn’t let Norris overtake easily, causing a collision between them and puncturing both of their cars.

Helmut Marko upon this incident, he thought that some of the actions between both the drivers were too intense and aggressive. The 81-year-old explained that it was a very tough duel, and some of the actions went over the line. Marko stated that Lando Norris had already crossed the white line three times which caused a problem for both of them. The 81-year-old reckoned, that was a complete unnecessary move by Norris.

That was a very tough duel, and I think that some of them went over the line. We knew that Lando had already crossed the white line three times. It was this action that set them both back. I saw that as completely unnecessary.
Helmut Marko said, as reported by motorsporttotal.com
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Helmut Marko expressed disappointment over the incident, noting that it was unfortunate because it had been an exciting battle. He explained that their problems began when they ran out of new medium tires and then had a poor pit stop for the first time. Marko stated it was hard for Max Verstappen to compete with used medium tires. Despite these troubles, he felt that both drivers were unnecessarily harsh on each other. He mentioned, if they had been less aggressive and more strategic, the outcome could’ve been positive for both of them.

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It was a shame, because it was a great battle. It started with the fact that we had no more new mediums and that the pit stop went wrong for us for the first time. But still, that was unnecessarily harsh from both drivers.
Helmut Marko added

Verstappen claimed that his RB20 became undrivable midway through the race.

Verstappen at the post race interview said, he couldn’t explain why his car’s performance changed suddenly. He mentioned, at the beginning of the race the car has a good balance, but midway through it became very undrivable. The 26-year-old mentioned this sudden change in the performance usually meant something’s wrong with the car. Verstappen performed exceptionally well before the main race. The Dutchman led qualifying by 0.404 seconds to take pole. He dominated the sprint race even more, which indicated he was going to win in Austria.

To be honest, I have no explanation for why the car suddenly changed from an initially good balance to undrivable behavior, which usually indicates that something was wrong.
Max Verstappen said
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Verstappen explained that the car initially felt fine, but as the race progressed, it became almost impossible to handle, which indicated a serious issue. He was confident in his ability to still win the race despite the car’s difficulties. However, too many errors during the pit stop ruined his race and left him angry and frustrated. Verstappen reckoned, if these mistakes wouldn’t had made at the pitstop, he could’ve managed to overcome the car’s problem and secured a victory.

Something must have happened to the car because it was suddenly undrivable,But even with that, we could have won today if we hadn't made so many mistakes during the pit stops.
Max Verstappen added

Certainly, Max Verstappen left very frustrated because he believed the win was still in his favor after the incident with Norris. However, the six seconds pitstop which is a one-off in case of Red Bull ruined Verstappen’s victory. Red Bull fans who gathered large in numbers seemed disappointed as it was their home race in Austria, the Dutchman ended the race at the fifth position.

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