Added on June 30, 2024  Kurt Verlin  2024 Austrian Grand Prix , austrian grand prix , collision , max verstappen , puncture , Rubbing is racing

Verstappen and Norris Clash, Russell Cleans Up at 2024 Austrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris made contact while fighting for the lead of the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix, leaving both of their Formula 1 cars with a puncture and allowing George Russell to pick up his first win of the season.

Verstappen had successfully fended off both McLarens in yesterday’s sprint race, but after a slow final pit stop during the main event, his 6.5-second lead over Norris dwindled to just over two seconds, and the latter wasted no time in applying pressure. So far in 2024, Norris tends to be the fastest man on track in the back half of the races, and that remained true at this lovely circuit nestled in the idyllic Styrian hills.

Rubbin’ ain’t racin’

After several laps of hard wheel-to-wheel racing — including dangerous weaving under braking by Verstappen, risky dive-bombs by Norris, and both cars at one point going straight off the track — Norris went for a move on the outside of Turn 3, hoping to line up a pass on the following straight. Verstappen drifted a little to the outside as well, a typical move to tighten the attacker’s line, but a little was too much, and they made contact.

“Rubbing is racing” is not an adage that can be applied to F1 cars, whose sensitive bodywork is unsuitable for protecting the tires from said rubbing. Nonetheless, they can, at times, get away with a surprising amount of wheel-to-wheel banging. At other times, even the mildest contact can lead to dramatic results, and drama is exactly what we got this afternoon: Verstappen’s rear-left tire instantly popped, and Norris’s rear-right eventually did the same.

The three-time champion managed to nurse his three-wheeled car back to the pits for a change of tires, after which he finished fifth overall. Norris was less fortunate; he pushed harder on his way to the pits, and his tire disintegrated spectacularly, shredding the car. He also needed a new front wing, and after his pit crew struggled to change it, McLaren ultimately chose to retire Norris from the race.

George Russell, who had been some 15 seconds behind the leaders during their battle and settling in for a relatively comfortable third-place finish, was able to pick up the pieces and claim his first win of the season — his third career F1 win overall. He was followed by Oscar Piastri, who matched his 2023 result in Austria and claimed his fourth F1 podium. Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three for the fourth time this year.

Stewarding disasterclass

The race stewards ultimately found Verstappen to be at fault for the collision with Norris, and he was consequently and deservedly handed a 10-second time penalty. Their battle at the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix is already the subject of much conversation about rules, sportsmanship, racing etiquette, and so on and so forth.

But undoubtedly the guiltiest party in the whole affair were the stewards responsible for enforcing the rules. They should have given Verstappen a warning, or even penalized him, for his dangerous move under braking on the first lap of his battle with Norris, who had to take evasive action. They should have told Verstappen to give Norris the lead when he managed to keep it only by going off the track. And they should have immediately given Norris his penalty for exceeding track limits too many times, rather than waiting several laps, which would have changed the dynamic of the duel.

As is so often the case with elite competitors in any sport, F1 drivers will do everything they can to maximize results. Everyone wants to see “hard but fair” racing, but in scraps such as these, it is the drivers who bring the hardness and the stewards who must balance it with fairness.

They failed to do that today — but at least the viewers got a good show, and with the gaps at the top narrowing, the remainder of the 2024 season is shaping up to be quite exciting.