Column
Why Norris gets away with the behaviour for which Verstappen is reviled
- Ludo van Denderen
After Max Verstappen had handed over first place in the Hungarian Grand Prix to teammate Sergio Perez only after several emphatic insistence by his team and clearly irritated, the Red Bull Racing driver arrived in the cool down room visibly frustrated. First, he casually threw a Pirelli cap on the ground, while third-placed Lewis Hamilton complimented him on the speed of his car. "You were fast seven years ago," Verstappen snapped back at the bewildered Hamilton.
Of course, that's not how it went on Sunday. Max Verstappen did not make it onto the podium at the Hungaroring at all. Where the introductory paragraph mentions the Dutchman's name, in reality it should be Lando Norris, who finished second behind his teammate Oscar Piastri. For the rest, things did go as described. Indeed, it was Norris who ignored his McLaren's team orders for a long time, it was Norris who swatted away the tyre supplier's cap and it was also Norris who gave a sneer to Hamilton, who precisely admired McLaren.
British media always 100 per cent behind Norris
And how did the British media and their highly-paid analysts react to this childish vendetta behaviour by Norris? Well, they didn't. Indeed, for instance, at the leading tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail, there was actually mostly compassion for poor Norris, who, according to the paper, had been robbed of a GP victory. As the mainly British newsroom in the paddock listened to team principal Andrea Stella in disbelief and full of incomprehension as to why Norris had to hand over his first place to Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the Grand Prix.
Assume here it had not been Lando Norris, who had behaved like a spoilt child, but Max Verstappen. It is not even a question of whether the British press would have condemned the Dutchman, but mainly to what extent. Indeed, it became clear again in Hungary: Lando Norris is the darling of the British and their media, who keep getting away with the behaviour for which Verstappen is criticised. In their eyes, Verstappen is the arrogant and unsportsmanlike overseas driver, who thinks only of himself and must be dragged through the mud at every opportunity.
Verstappen always the bogeyman for the British
Take Ted Kravitz, a pit reporter for British broadcaster Sky Sports, who condemned Verstappen for his collision with Lewis Hamilton. In reality, the Dutchman overshoot the corner while braking and it was race officials who pointed out that Hamilton could well have made more of an effort to avoid contact. But probably that nuance did not fit the narrative about the bogeyman Max.
Lando Norris' extremely irritating behaviour was no reason for Sky Sports to give him a verbal slap on the wrist for once. No, 'a drama for Norris', was how the broadcaster described the Briton's day. Double standards? No doubt about that.