Kravitz: 'Norris needs a book from Hamilton on how to race Verstappen'
F1 News
Max Verstappen's defending has been called into question once again. On lap 64, the Dutchman and Lando Norris collided with each other, giving each other punctures and dashing their hopes of victory. Verstappen was judged to have moved into Norris while the Brit was looking for a move around the outside of Turn 3 and was given a 10-second penalty. However, the Red Bull driver finished fifth, whereas Norris was forced to retire due to damage sustained from the puncture. Speaking after the race, Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz has his say on yet another incident involving Verstappen's defending techniques.
After controlling the Austrian Grand Prix for the majority, a slow pitstop from Red Bull meant that Norris was on the tail of Verstappen, putting the pressure on and trying ambitious divebombs with fresher medium tyres. Verstappen, as he always does, defended hard, with some questionable moves under braking occurring. Then, lap 62 happened, and both of their races were ruined. Verstappen was given the blame for the incident, and many in the media agreed the the stewards.
Kravitz's view on Verstappen's defending is "divided"
Pitlane reporter Kravitz gave his review on Verstappen's manoeuvres in his post-race show on Sky Sports, and he started by saying, "What we've seen today is the latest chapter in the story of Max Verstappen racing. If somebody were to write a book about how you race Max Verstappen, you might as well give it to Lando Norris today, and I've said it before, but welcome to the world of racing Max Verstappen, or trying to race Max Verstappen, with chapters in the book by Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Räikkönen, and many more."
Kravitz acknowledges that there is yet another questionable moment from Verstappen while defending, something that has been seen many times by the three-time World Champion. However, unlike many pundits in the paddock who said Verstappen was 100% at fault, the reporter says that he is divided about Verstappen's robust approach to defending.
"Max will not yield," continued Kravitz. "But my view is divided because great drivers do not yield. Michael Schumacher never yielded, and Ayrton Sena never yielded. Andrea Stella was very critical and said that today was a product of when you don't crack down on things that are allowed and racing and are not allowed in racing, like Brazil with Max and Lewis [Hamilton] in 2021, and when you don't crack down on that, it leads to incidents like the one today."