Ben Hunt: Why this time F1 nice guy Norris cannot afford to say sorry

Lando Norris’s excellent performances this season for McLaren have been punctuated by a tendency to be incredibly hard on himself whenever he has made a mistake. He has been insistent on taking the blame, even when it was not entirely his fault.

Norris has been open and honest about his mental health during his journey to the top of F1 but in being so he faced questions about his approach.

Is beating himself up each time he makes a mistake his best way to get the best out of himself, or would being kinder to himself allow him the capability and flexibility in mind to challenge for wins on a regular basis?

He was incredibly despondent after seeing Verstappen win the sprint race in Austria having challenged for the lead on the fifth lap. In the post-sprint press conference, he sat hunched with his eyes closed as he reflected on another missed opportunity. He looked broken once again.

Could he find the psychological strength to bounce back?

He did so by qualifying in second place for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix but again, the focus was immediately on how he would handle Verstappen. The two have become close over the years. They both live in Monaco and enjoy sim racing but until now, it was Verstappen who more often than not came out on top.

There was a feeling in the paddock that perhaps Norris’s friendship with Verstappen, plus his self-tendency to blame himself, was somehow diluting his ruthless instinct that is required to earn his second victory in Formula 1. Was he simply too nice?

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, battles with Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

This is why what happened when the two traded places during the Austrian Grand Prix before making contact could well prove to be a defining moment within not only this season, but in Norris’s Formula 1 career.

Performance-wise, he was able to pull himself into a fight for the victory and showed true grit in battle. He did all he could to ensure this was not another opportunity that he was going to blow. He knew he needed to do everything to pass Verstappen and that meant putting friendships aside and tapping into a ruthlessness that we perhaps have not seen from the British racer.

Verstappen’s tenacity is well-documented but this time it was Norris who was the aggressor, diving up the inside of Turn 3 earlier in the race, before the contact that caused Verstappen’s puncture and sent Norris out. It was the first proper time that we have seen Verstappen come under such sustained pressure since he won the 2021 Formula 1 title in his titanic battle with Lewis Hamilton.

It had come about thanks to McLaren’s pace but also due to a side of Norris’ character that we rarely witness, and should give him renewed optimism that he can challenge more regularly.

Another important element in the post-race fallout in the paddock was that Norris was unapologetic for his actions. He had been served with a time penalty for exceeding track limits as part of his attempts to pass Verstappen, who had naturally pinned the blame on the McLaren man.

However, Norris was clear; he had done nothing wrong. There was simply no way he was putting his hands up and admitting culpability on this.

He sat in the McLaren’s temporary motorhome sucking on a lollypop, waiting for his ride to the airport while team principal Andrea Stella addressed the media. Norris was calm but there was a steeliness about him and as he sucked hard on the sweet and flicked through the messages on his phone; this was not a beaten man ruing his error but someone different, oozing with mental fortitude.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, retires in the pits after contact with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, whilst battling for the lead

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

And that all bodes extremely well for this season and indeed his career as goes wheel to wheel with Verstappen. The world champion has had it all his own way for three and a half seasons, but you get the feeling that this Austrian GP could yet prove to be a watershed moment.

He was not able to bully Norris off track, this time his opponent had managed to dig deep and got his elbows out. Had he not, then perhaps it would have been another broken Norris in the post-race interviews and it would have been difficult again to see how he would bounce back.

All eyes now flash to Norris’ home race at Silverstone and the scenes of course of Hamilton and Verstappen’s first-lap showdown in 2021 that has set the tone for that explosive season. It is unlikely that we will see a repeat of such toxicity but their relationship will come under the microscope.

Stella was asked whether the clash in Austria would mean their relationship would be impacted and what it means going forward. Interestingly, he feels that in order for them to move on, one driver will need to apologise.

He said: “Obviously, when there's a rivalry in professional sport, under the pressure that these guys experience, it's always going to be a bit on the edge in terms of the implication for the human relationships. 

“But if the drivers were able to show respect, and if the drivers were able to show integrity, and if the drivers were able to say, ‘Apologies, I overcooked it, it closed too much, I collided. My apologies’. I think the human relationship can continue. 

“Actually, you will gain even more respect, because you can see he is a tough contender, but at the same time, he can be somebody that can apologise. It won't be dependent on the outcome of the incident but it will be on the values that you deploy before, during and after. So I don't think this [friendship] is compromised but this is a case in which somebody will have to apologise.”

However, it is unlikely Verstappen will back down and say sorry, but it is vital that neither should Norris. For if he does, he would be back at square one and in this perpetual pattern of apology, which can only be seen as a weakness by his opponents.