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• Norris could 'lose respect' for Verstappen after Austrian Grand Prix collision

  Lando Norris admitted he could "lose respect" for Max Verstappen if he does not take the blame for their collision in Austria.

  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 Norris forced to retire as a result.

  Three laps later, Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty after a virtual safety car and eventually finished in fifth.

  Norris expressed his frustration at his race being cut short and confessed his friendship with Verstappen could be affected 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 I did a 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 nothing 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 Austria 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 comments, 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. "It'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 sausage 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 never nice to come together."

• Russell praises Mercedes persistence after first win of season

  George Russell believes Mercedes' persistence finally paid off as he secured their first win of the 2024 season at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

  Russell began the race in third but benefitted from a collision caused by Max Verstappen, who was hit with a time penalty, with Lando Norris, who was forced to retire.

  The Briton took full advantage, speeding past the stricken vehicles to claim just his second career win.

  After finishing in the top five in each of the last three races, Russell was pleased to continue building on Mercedes' momentum.

  "It's no secret with Red Bull and Max, and McLaren with Lando are still a little bit out in front," Russell said. "But we are always putting ourselves in that third-place position in the last couple of races.

  "If anything happens up front, we will then pick it up. What an exciting time for us.

  "We are riding a bit of a wave at the moment; these last three races have been incredible. I think realistically we probably could have won the race in Canada, but this makes up for one too many mistakes on my side."

  The collision between Verstappen and Norris came on lap 64 of 71, with both drivers vying for the lead, but Russell was not surprised by it.

  "[Verstappen and Norris] were going for it. I couldn't believe how close we were to Lando and Max," Russell added. "We were only about 12 seconds behind, and I knew [the collision] was a possibility. You are always dreaming.

  "It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto that P3 and I saw on the TV Max and Lando getting pretty hard. I knew Lando would be wanting to get that race win.

  "The team have done an amazing job to get us into this fight, and you've got to be there to pick it up the pieces and that's where we were."

• Austria pole a 'good statement' for Red Bull – Verstappen

  Max Verstappen said Red Bull made a "good statement" after he secured pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix.

  Verstappen, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, qualified ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris to take his first pole in four races.

  The reigning Formula One world champion was in fine form throughout the session, and will now go for a record-extending fifth Austrian Grand Prix victory.

  Verstappen has recorded the most podium finishes (six) and the most fastest laps (four) at the Austrian Grand Prix, and has now also taking the outright most pole positions (four) at the race.

  "The whole session went really well. The car was in a better window and I could push a bit more and it was very enjoyable. Every lap I did was feeling good," the Dutchman said.

  "It's been a while since we were on pole, and a while since I felt like this in the car, and it's great. The team has been working hard to make the car more competitive and it's a good statement.

  "Hopefully it will be a tight battle again but I am not thinking too much about that. I am just thinking about how the car was performing today and hopefully it will translate into race pace."

  The Austrian Grand Prix winner has started on the front row on nine of the last 11 occasions (six from pole and three from second).

  Norris, who was third in the sprint race, finished ahead of Mercedes George Russell to secure second place behind Verstappen.

  He said: "It was as much as we could do. Max was in a league of his own. [He had] more than what we had. Tricky conditions."

  Lewis Hamilton secured fifth on the grid, and his hopeful Mercedes can challenge on Sunday.

  "All these guys are so quick. It's very close between us all," he said.

  "I'm relatively happy with my lap. The middle sector was not as good as I would have liked. If I had got those two perfect would probably have been in the top three but it’s very hard to get a lap.

  "We can fight the Ferraris but I don't know if we can fight the McLarens. We'll have to see."

  Top 10

  1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

  2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

  3. George Russell (Mercedes)

  4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

  5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

  6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

  7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

  8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

  9. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

  10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)