Lando Norris says he hasn’t spoken to Max Verstappen since they clashed on track in Mexico. My immediate reaction was about time, too. They are fighting for the world championship, not starting up a boy band.
They should stay out of each other’s way – off track, as well as on it – until the destiny of the title is settled, hopefully as late as the final round in Abu Dhabi on December 12.
A few weeks ago, I asked Norris if he would like to win the championship more than remain friends with Max. He said ‘yes’, but did he mean it?
The impression for so long was that Verstappen, 26, had him exactly where he needed him. It was as if Lando, 24, looked up to him as an older brother.
That notion was underlined when Norris said last week that Verstappen was the best driver in the world. Would any contender have said the same of a contemporary in the midst of battle? With the exception of the sportsman supreme Stirling Moss of Juan Manuel Fangio, I can’t think of one.
Max Verstappen has come in for criticism for his strong-arming tactics on the track in Mexico
Lando Norris revealed that he and Verstappen have not spoken since clashing on the track
Norris and Verstappen should stay out of each other’s way – both on the track and off it
Perhaps last weekend’s skirmish, for which Verstappen was handed two 10-second penalties for strong-arm driving – the first harshly in my view; the second fairly by any reasonable assessment – has stiffened the Briton’s resolve.
Asked if there had been verbal contact since he called Verstappen’s driving dangerous, Norris said: ‘No we’ve not spoken. I don’t think we need to. I’ve got nothing to say.
‘I still have a lot of respect for Max and everything he does. Not respect for what he did last weekend, but respect for him as a person and what he has achieved.
‘But it’s not for me to speak to him. I’m not his teacher; I’m not his mentor. Max knows what he has to do. He knows he did wrong. Deep down he does. And it’s for him to change, not for me.’
Strong words from Norris. He is not a natural jouster.
As for Verstappen, he remains the finest racing exponent of his time, and one rush of blood does not change that.
The McLaren star stated that he believes deep down Verstappen knows that he is in the wrong
Verstappen, though, remains the foremost racing exponent of his time – a rush of blood does not change that
Why Checo could prove difficult to dislodge
Sergio Perez, I am reliably told, has no performance clause in his contract, meaning he can’t be sacked for lying ninth in the standings.
If, as seems almost certain, he is moved on over the next few weeks, his contract for next year will take some unravelling. The respected Julian Jakobi, Ayton Senna’s former manager, looks after Perez’s affairs through shrewd eyes.
Who’s next on the Red Bull merry-go-round?
Who to replace Perez with? Liam Lawson is likely to take the step up from RB. Who then to replace him?
I am told Red Bull boss Christian Horner is interested in Williams’ highly impressive 21-year-old Franco Calapinto. The Argentine will be left without a seat next year when Carlos Sainz partners Alex Albon.
In passing, did Williams need to bring in Sainz at great cost when they could have hired Calapinto for free with the help of serious Latin American backing?
‘He’s surprisingly much better than his results in Formula Two suggest,’ said Horner of Colapinto.
Yes, but what would it mean for Red Bull’s Driver Academy if Calapinto is promoted ahead of Isack Hadjar, the 20-year-old Algerian-French racing driver who has been on the team’s books since May, 2021, and has outperformed Calapinto in every category, every season?
Sergio Perez does not have a performance clause in his contract, F1 Confidential understands
Liam Lawson is likely to make the step up from RB to take the Mexican driver’s place at Red Bull
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is interested in Williams’ highly impressive 21-year-old Franco Calapinto
Confidential’s tip for keeping safe in Sao Paolo
Jenson Button walked into the Hilton hotel’s club room one Saturday night looking shaken. He, father John, manager Richard Goddard and trainer Mikey Collier had just been held up at gunpoint on the hairy ride through the favelas that line the road that leads to and from the Interlagos circuit.
We went into the lobby for a catch-up with Goddard, who told how their trained local driver accelerated away from the scene, and then a few of us picked up the phone to file the story. A few hundred words on deadline for the Mail on Sunday from me.
Instances of shootings on this stretch have been common over the years. Team members are told to take off their kit. Their cars are unmarked, and over the last few years the armed police presence has grown.
My best policy is to use bog-standard taxi.
Calendar change would honour the magic of Interlagos
So much drama sweeps through the mind on visiting Interlagos, this undulating and atmospheric gem.
There was seeing the last of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari career here. Seeing Lewis Hamilton miss out on the title by a single point as the finest rookie ever. Seeing him take the title by the same slender margin a year later – passing Timo Glock’s Toyota on the final bend as Felipe Massa’s family were already celebrating in the Ferrari garage. His father’s face hit the floor as he realised his son wasn’t champion.
Seeing Jenson Button win his one and only title in 2009, a race earlier than he was likely to.
My own preference would be that the season once again finished in Sao Paulo. The place fizzes with energy. Abu Dhabi, who pay a premium to be the final stop, looks a picture, and is fine for a yacht party, but it is a meagre track compared with this place.
So much drama sweeps through the mind on visiting Interlagos, this undulating and atmospheric gem
Lewis Hamilton became the youngest driver to ever win the World Championship back in 2008 at Interlagos
Now an honorary citizen of Brazil, Hamilton will drive Ayrton Senna’s red-and-white McLaren round the track on Saturday
Hamilton’s emotional run-out
Lewis Hamilton was hissed at by the locals when he took on Massa in 2008. Now he is an honorary citizen of Brazil, which is quite something.
On Saturday he will drive the red-and-white McLaren in which his hero Ayrton Senna drove to the world titles in 1990 around Interlagos.
‘An emotional experience,’ said Hamilton of his turn behind the wheel. Lewis cried behind his dad’s car when he heard the news of Senna’s death. He didn’t want his father to see his tears.
This weekend’s surprise guest
Bernie Ecclestone is only an occasional caller to Formula One these days. But Interlagos is an obvious venue for him. He and his Brazilian wife Fabiana, a vice-president of the FIA, own a coffee farm in Amparo, some 90 miles out of Sao Paulo’s sprawl.
Ecclestone, who turned 94 this week, mostly lives in Gstaad, Switzerland, but he spent a chunk of lockdown safely ensconced on his plantation.
Bernie Ecclestone – now 94 – is only an occasional caller to F1 these days but will be present at Interlagos
Can ‘most sued journalist in the world
Tom Rubython is perhaps the most sued journalist in the world. The latest of some 25 legal actions against him resulted in former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates being awarded £150,000 in damages in the High Court last week.
Rubython, who is editor, director and majority shareholder of BusinessF1 magazine, profiled Bates under the extraordinary headline: ‘The biggest wrong’un in sport’. He claimed Bates had, ‘directed the murder of business rivals to further his business interests.’
Bates’s lawyers provided a ‘detailed explanation as to why the allegations were false’.
Rubython, who represented himself, contended that Bates, ‘already had such a bad reputation that it was incapable of sustaining any serious harm as a result of the publication of the article.’
Tom Rubython, who is editor, director and majority shareholder of BusinessF1 magazine, is perhaps the most sued journalist in the world
Deputy High Court Judge Aidan Eardley disagreed, hence the significant award to Bates.
News of the verdict prompted questions in the paddock over the future of the magazine, which revels in being a thorn in the flesh of the sport’s personalities and panjandrums. Would it close?
Well, the latest edition, online only for now, is up.