Max Verstappen surprised Lando Norris with the news after Charles Leclerc had singled him out during the Spanish Grand Prix final practice.
When Max Verstappen revealed to Lando Norris the punishment Charles Leclerc had received for running him over during practice, the driver was unable to contain his disbelief.
TV pundits characterized the incident, which occurred toward the end of the final practice session on Saturday, as an example of “road rage.” Disappointed that the McLaren had stopped him during a fast lap, Leclerc seemed to intentionally drive into Norris by sweeping across the track.
The British driver, taken aback, announced over the intercom that the impact had damaged his front wing. But according to the Ferrari driver, he had only “misjudged the position of his car.”
Although Leclerc received criticism from the stewards, he was not punished physically for his actions. Following a similar incident in which the Aston Martin driver made contact with Lewis Hamilton during the same session, the same decision was made for Lance Stroll.
These choices weren’t made until right before qualifying began. Thus, Norris didn’t find out that Leclerc had avoided making contact with Verstappen earlier in the day until after he had successfully grabbed pole from him.
And he was unable to contain his shock when the Dutchman broke the news to him during a nearby phone camera conversation. Verstappen’s statement, “It’s quite crazy [Leclerc] got a reprimand,” is audible.
With wide eyes, Norris said incredulously, “That’s what he got?” The Briton was still looking perplexed when Verstappen told him that, but he added, “My whole front wing was f***ed.”
Luckily, Norris was obviously unfazed by the incident. The British driver said that he had completed “probably my best lap ever” to beat his opponent and ensure that, for just the second time in his Formula One career, he would start a Grand Prix from the lead. Verstappen had been beaten by just two hundredths of a second.
Leclerc, meanwhile, persisted in saying that he had not made contact on purpose following the session. “I braked to be alongside him and I misjudged,” he remarked. Being irritated and staring in the mirror put me a little in the middle because I was on the right and didn’t want to obstruct any of the cars behind. We tried not to obstruct, which was extremely risky, and then we crashed. More often than not, though, it was a misunderstanding.
“You’re always annoyed when you get stuck, but you never want to touch the car because, well, in FP3, you really don’t want to damage it because I have qualifying right after. That’s never the aim, then.
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