Lando Norris admitted he could "lose respect" for Max Verstappen if he does not take the blame for their collision in Austria. (More Motorsport News)
The two were competing for first place when the contact was made on lap 64, leaving the race open for George Russell to win, with Norri🍃s forced to retire as a result.
Three laps later, Verstap🃏pen was hit with a 10-second penalty after a virtual safety car and eventually finis♈hed in fifth.
Norris expressed his frustration at his🌠 race being cut short and confessed his friendship with Verstappen could be ဣaffected as a result.
"I'm disappointed, nothing more than that, honestly," Norris told Sky Sports F1. "It was a good race. I looked forward♓ to probably, I'd say, just a fair battle, a strong fair battle. But I wouldn't 🐠say that's what it was in the end.
"Tough one to take. It was a mistake-free race from my side, and I feel like 𒊎I did ඣa good job but I got taken out of the race, so nothing more than that.
"I don't know [if their friendship will be affected]. It depends what he says. If he says he did nothin💜g wrong, then I'll lose a lot of respect for that.
"If he admits 🅷to being a bit stupid and running into me and just being a bit reckless in a way, then I'll have a small amount of respect for it.
"But it's still a tough one to take when we're fighting for the win and I'm trying to be fair from my side and he just wasn't. That's not what I'm thinking about. I don't care about that now. I'm just 🦩gutted for the team."
Verstappen was chasing what would have been a fifth consecutive win in Austrꦓia and remains just one podium away from overtaking Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso as the diver with the fourth-highest solo podium🌜 finishes.
Asked about Norris' post-race com♛ments, the Dutchman was careful not to take any of the blame without first talking to the McLaren driver.
"I need to look back at how or why we touched. Of course, we will talk about it," Verstappen said to Sky Sports F1. "ꦓIt's༺ just unfortunate it happened.
"I felt like sometimes he dive-bombed so late on the brakes. One time he went straight. One time I had to go around the sausageꦕ otherwise we would have touched.
"I think it🐻's also the shape of the corner provides these kind of issues sometimes. I've had it also the other way around. It is what it is. It's ne🌞ver nice to come together."
