McLaren launches attack on Verstappen’s record after Norris contact

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has attacked Max Verstappen’s record after the late collision between the Red Bull and Lando Norris.

For much of the race in Spielberg, it looked as if Verstappen was on course for a comfortable win, but a slow pit stop by the world champion on lap 52 allowed Norris to launch a late charge for the win.

The two went off the track during their battle, but on lap 64 Norris tried to get around the outside of the Dutchman to back up and get a better exit into Turn 4 – but Verstappen appeared to be moving in the braking zone.

The left rear axle of the Red Bull was punctured by Norris’ right tyre, forcing the McLaren out of the race. Verstappen finished fifth and received a 10-second time penalty, but his position remained unchanged.

He also received two penalty points for challenging Stella Verstappen’s record of previously moving into braking zones – most notoriously during the title fight against Lewis Hamilton in their heated battle in 2021.

“I think the entire world population would know who is responsible, except for one group of people,” said Stella Sky Sports F1.

“The problem is that if you don’t address these things, they will come back. And today they have come back because they were not addressed properly in the past, when there were some fights with Lewis that had to be severely punished.”

“You learn to race in a certain way, then we can give in fairly and honestly.

“We have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max, that they don’t have to do that.

“You don’t have to do that. It’s a way to damage your reputation. Why would you do that?”

Verstappen is to blame

Stella also called on race control to take “proportionate” action against drivers who find themselves in a similar situation to Verstappen and take another driver out of the race.

“For us, Max is solely responsible for this incident. So this is not about racing, it’s about driving within the rules,” he said.

“The rules must be effectively enforced because if a car retires from the race as a result of an accident, the penalty must be proportionate to the result.”

“This has already happened to us twice when we skidded while braking. So it’s clear that we have to force the racing style because we want to have fun and enjoy it.”

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