Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have publicly patched up their friendship following their recent clash for victory in Austria, while other F1 drivers downplayed the significance of the incident.
Only a short time after the press was voicing headlined concerns about triple world champion Verstappen's aggressive driving tactics, McLaren's Norris reached out to reconcile with his colleague and alleviate tensions.
"After the race, I said there was no point discussing the incident at that point," Verstappen explained on Thursday at Silverstone. "The emotions were running high and all that. The next day I woke up quite early because I wanted to talk to Lando, but he had already sent me a message. I really respect that approach," he continued, despite Norris' initial admission that he could end their friendship.
Regarding the harsh media scrutiny and direct criticism from Norris' McLaren boss Andrea Stella, Verstappen retorted, "I don't give a sh*t about the criticism."
"I go home, live my life, and - as I said - the only thing I cared about is my relationship with Lando," he elaborated. "That was the only thing that was really important to me about that weekend."
Norris, aged 24, noted that his relationship with Verstappen remains "business as usual," retracting his earlier suggestion that the Dutch driver should apologize for his defensive driving in Austria.
"I don't think he needed to apologise," the Brit clarified. "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 just emotions."
"I probably said some things I didn't necessarily believe in," Norris admitted.
Several other current Formula 1 drivers also supported Verstappen.
"I don't understand all the fuss," remarked Daniel Ricciardo. "I mean - what do they expect from Max?"
"If you're fighting for victory, you can't seriously believe that a guy like Max will politely wave his opponent past. Was it even dangerous? Reckless? Neither! It was a slight touch at low speed," Verstappen's former Red Bull teammate added. "I think Max versus Lewis Hamilton here in Copse in 2021 was a completely different story."
Haas racer Nico Hulkenberg concurred: "For me, it was just racing. I mean, the cars could hardly have touched each other any less than they did. Normally, something like that ends pretty well."
"I thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion," the German driver observed.
F1 veteran Fernando Alonso critiqued the FIA's excessive stewarding, claiming it discourages daring maneuvers.
"It will be a long driver briefing," the Spaniard anticipated, "but we have to sit down together and see how we can do better in the future."
"But it's become too much," he lamented about the rigorous penalties for minor infractions. "Formula 1 always manages to make things more complicated."
