Replacements for Sergio Perez As Red Bull Seeks Ideal Teammate for Verstappen

One of the most persistent debates in Formula 1 has resurfaced, as the motorsport world buzzes with discussions on the ideal teammate for Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have each had their say on their dramatic late-race collision while battling for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix, with an unhappy Norris suggesting that it is down to Verstappen to approach him in terms of discussing the incident.

After Red Bull suffered a rare slow pit stop when Verstappen made his final planned visit to the pits on Lap 52 of 71, the Dutchman’s lead from Norris was cut to less than two seconds, enabling the McLaren to continue to close in during the subsequent laps.

Norris made several attempts to overtake before tensions boiled over on Lap 64 as the pair made contact into Turn 3, resulting in both picking up punctures and having to return to the pits.

While Norris had sustained too much damage to continue, Verstappen rejoined the race but was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing the incident. Despite this, he was able to retain his position of fifth, having built enough of a gap from sixth-placed Nico Hulkenberg.

Reflecting on a race in which he had displayed impressive pace before the contact with Verstappen, Norris could not hide his disappointment as he explained: “I thought it was a good race until then.

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It was easy to make mistakes but difficult to drive because of the windy conditions and things like that. I just feel let down. A lot of damage on the car, the car’s completely destroyed now so… Yeah, a shame. I don’t know.

“You want to keep driving, and if I got back to the pits in a better way I could have probably gone out and got some points, but the car was too badly broken. I don’t know what I’m meant to say. I did all I could, I gave a fair, respectful, on-the-edge battle, but that’s not what I got in return.”

Norris and Verstappen have long been known to share a good relationship off-track but, when asked if the incident is something that the two of them would talk about, Norris laid the blame firmly at his rival’s door.

“It’s not for me to say, it’s for him to say something,” he responded. “I did nothing wrong – he was the one in the wrong, so he’s the one that should say something, not me.”