Russell led from the start and kept Verstappen in check throughout the race until the thing McLaren has surely been dreading all year happened. Thanks to pit strategy, Norris had moved up the running order and was in fifth place, trying to pass Piastri for fourth. After thinking better of it at the hairpin at the far end of the circuit, Norris thought he saw an opportunity going into turn 1. Instead, he misjudged things, and the gap disappeared. His front wing met Piastri’s rear tire, his car’s left side met the concrete wall, and his day was done.
With two such closely matched drivers in equal machinery, a collision on track was bound to occur. As McLaren teammate collisions go, this one lacked the near-hatred of Prost versus Senna and didn’t cost it a win in the process. Now that it’s out of the way, hopefully the kids won’t do it again.
Norris’ crash brought out a safety car, which remained in effect for the final few laps of the race. So little happened during the race that the highlight reel that plays in the green room post-race was over almost before it started.
Lando Norris walks back to the garage after wrecking just past the start-finish line. Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images
It’s all getting a bit aggro
The off-track action has been far more vicious, with two big stories dominating the buildup to the Grand Prix. The first was Verstappen’s penalty points: Accumulate 12 points in 12 months, and the result is a one-race ban. Verstappen is currently on 11 points following his collision with Russell in Spain, so any slip-up that earns him a penalty point will send Red Bull scrambling to find enough drivers to fill all four of its cars (two Red Bulls, two RBs), should the reigning world champion get benched.