When Max Verstappen and Lando Norris made contact in turn 3 on lap 64 in the Austrian Grand Prix on June 30th, Netflix was gifted the trailer for season 7 of Drive To Survive, while Formula 1 was left with its most controversial incident since the 2021 season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Verstappen edged Lewis Hamilton to win the world championship. And it’s exactly what F1 needs.
Verstappen has owned F1 over the last two years so much so that the fight for the world championship has become merely an afterthought in the second half of these seasons. With a Verstappen title basically clinched, fans were left with other less fascinating storylines to follow, like “Can Sergio Perez single-handedly lose Red Bull the constructors championship?” Or, “What young driver will be prematurely thrust into a role and performs so overwhelmingly mid that it ends his career?” Or, “Ferrari did what?” (Of course, the Ferrari did what question is a constant of the last decade.)
Now, F1 hopefully has the foundation for a rivalry that can continue the sport’s rise in worldwide popularity.
The sport needed someone to challenge Verstappen. Verstappen himself needed someone to challenge him. Badly. The last thing we need is for the Dutchman to become so bored with his domination that he looks for a career change (Acting maybe? Nah. Have you seen the Heineken commercials? Verstappen is even bad at playing himself in those).
Quite simply, F1 needed a rivalry, and one that was not between Alpine drivers. What they got was the rivalry.
In prize-fighting terms, what transpired in Austria was the staredown at the weigh-in; the upcoming British Grand Prix on July 7th at Silverstone now becomes the main event. Verstappen is the champion; Norris is the challenger. Verstappen has been throwing knockout punches for nearly three straight years. And while no belts will change hands (since Verstappen, with an 81-point lead in the drivers standings, has already defended his 2023 championship), and no ears will be severed, the battle could set the stage for years to come in F1.
The fact that Verstappen and Norris are friends makes it even more compelling. That friendship was tested in Austria; it will be tested further at Silverstone and in every race going forward. Call me a romantic, but if it builds this rivalry, then I’m all for seeing a friendship disintegrate in a blaze of glory.
They are also two of the youngest and most recognizable faces in Formula 1. Norris at 24 years old and Verstappen, the three-time champion is just 26. And both displayed varying levels of immaturity in Austria – Verstappen probably more so than Norris. Ask anyone not affiliated with Red Bull, and they’ll tell you Max is still a baby.
Much of the narrative of the 2024 season has focused on the progress Red Bull’s rivals have made in closing the performance gap to F1’s top team. It’s been gradual, but McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes are fairly close to being on equal footing with Red Bull. Everyone in the paddock could agree that one, or even more than one, of these teams could rival Red Bull. But no one was exactly sure who would distinguish himself as Verstappen’s chief rival.
With a win in Miami in May, Norris put applied for the lead role, gently knocking on the door to the office. In Austria, he knocked several times before finally, Verstappen looked through the peephole and saw Norris glaring at him on his pedestal. Verstappen has built his reputation as a driver whose absolute refusal to back down forces his competitors to acquiesce (save for Hamilton). With his determined actions in Austria, Norris called Verstappen’s bluff, and while it cost him the race and in the points, Norris planted an idea in Verstappen’s head. And if you can get inside Verstappen’s head, two things become evident: your chances of beating him increase, and Verstappen can’t shut up over the Red Bull team radio.
How Verstappen responds to Norris’ aggression (beyond Verstappen’s initial reaction) remains to be seen. How Max handles himself when he doubts himself vastly differs from how he reacts when others doubt him. Norris made him doubt himself; the blowback from Verstappen’s response made others doubt him. I think Verstappen is fine with that. If you doubt his greatness, then, in Verstappen’s eyes, he has to prove his greatness. Expect him to do that at Silverstone, and doing to in front a wildly pro-Norris crowd will make it doubly satisfying for Verstappen.
Verstappen won 15 of 23 races in the 2022 season. Of the seven races he did not win, he won the following race five times. Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in the 2023 season. Of the three he didn’t win, he won the following race each time. In 2024, Verstappen has won all but four races. In three of those instances, he won the following race. Expect him to make it 4-for-4 with a win at Silverstone. In short, Verstappen hates losing.
Because of what happened in Austria on June 30th, the British GP has become the most anticipated race in the sport since the aforementioned Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It also has the potential to be one of the most disappointing. In a perfect world, Verstappen and Norris would qualify 1-2, in either order and crash spectacularly playing a game of “Chicken” in the drag down to the Abbey corner. In the real world, it probably won’t be that dramatic, and there could be no drama at all. Let’s hope the former, or something similar, is the case.
Whatever happens, we should all remember that what transpired in Austria will serve as a prelude to 2025, the season where this Verstappen-Norris rivalry should really take off. That’s assuming McLaren continues to improve its car that keeps it on par, or even better, than the Red Bull. And if another driver or two wants to interject himself as a contender, the more the merrier. When’s the last time F1 had a three-driver battle for the championship?
Hopefully, what was witnessed from Verstappen and Norris in Austria is just chapter 1 in an epic tome.
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