Looking forward to the duel

Verstappen lashes out: “Don’t give a … about it!”

Max Verstappen does not want to jeopardize his friendship with Lando Norris.(Bild: AFP/APA/BENJAMIN CREMEL)

Max Verstappen has commented on his relationship with McLaren driver Lando Norris ahead of the race weekend in Silverstone. The incident in Spielberg has not changed anything between the two drivers. The Dutchman is looking forward to intense duels and clearly emphasizes that he thinks nothing of external assessments of the situation. 

"I don't give a shit about that, I go home and live my life. And the only thing that interests me is my relationship with Lando," said Verstappen on Thursday in Silverston, taking a swipe at critics who want to judge the situation between the two drivers externally. Rather, he would be happy to have many exciting duels with the Briton.

Norris and Verstappen met on Monday and talked about the accident in Spielberg and the competitive situation between them in general: "I think we agreed that we really enjoyed our battle," the Dutchman summed up afterwards. They looked back at the incident together and realized that there was "a ridiculous little touch with big consequences for both of us".  

Verstappen makes a promise
Nothing should change as a result. "We both like to drive hard and have done so for many years, not just in Formula 1, even in online racing, where we've also had a lot of fun together," explained the world champion. It is clear that things can get emotional during a race situation, but there is certainly no bad blood between the two rivals. 

"Lando is a great guy, he's a really nice person who loves Formula 1 and racing. That's why I don't want to ruin this friendship off the track, because it definitely doesn't deserve that," says Verstappen. They also agreed on one thing in the conversation that all critics would also like to hear: "We'll keep going full throttle, that's what we agreed on. Because that's what we like to do. And it's also the best thing for Formula 1."