Following the acrimonious collision between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix, the pair met on-track twice at Silverstone, though without the same fireworks.The clear championship leader and his closest challenger fought so bitterly over the lead in Austria that the lack of drama in their Silverstone scraps came as a surprise. But each time they met on the Hangar straight one driver was clearly quicker than the other, and the power of DRS ensured each pass was a straightforward slam-dunk rather than a prolonged fight.
But there is surely more to come. Red Bull and McLaren are so close in performance Verstappen and Norris have qualified in consecutive grid positions for each of the last four grands prix. Expect this battle to remain joined for the foreseeable future. This weekend’s race in Hungary, where passing is never easy, could provide another flashpoint.
Will Norris be better armed to take on his rival this time? One driver who is uniquely well-placed to pass judgement on them saw the events of Austria as a valuable learning experience for the McLaren driver.Daniel Ricciardo was team mate to Norris for two seasons at McLaren and spent almost three years alongside Verstappen at Red Bull. He had his own run-in with Verstappen, notoriously, six years ago in Baku. That led to Ricciardo’s decision to leave them at the end of that season, though he returned to the Red Bull fold with its second team last year.
