Straight talk from Alex Wurz

F1 excitement: “Max didn’t drive in front of his car”

Alexander Wurz talks about the upset at Spielberg.

(Bild: Sepp Pail, twitter.com/F1)

Mercedes is delighted with George Russell's second victory, the first for the team since November 2022. But after the Austrian Grand Prix, everyone in Formula 1 is talking about the crash for the lead between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who retired as a result. Alexander Wurz was also in Spielberg, the chairman of the drivers' union, has a clear opinion on the matter.

"Max moved the car slightly before the crash, but there was just enough space. It must have been one car width. He didn't drive in front of his car, but they both tried to position themselves," analyzes Wurz. "Lando also didn't want to drive any further over the white line because he also had to brake."

However, the stewards even handed world champion Verstappen a hefty 10-second penalty, clearly putting the blame on the Red Bull star. "I wouldn't have seen any clear fault to give either of them a penalty," the two-time Le Mans winner disagrees, "but I always try to be on the side of: let them race! That just means it can be a bit rough." Norris first indicated right before the crash, then steered left - could Verstappen even see him? "Max knew for sure that he was there."

Wurz also sees the fact that the world champion did not receive any support from team-mate Sergio Perez as problematic. "From the team's point of view, you should have him up front to take the points from the two struggling drivers, but there were two Mercedes and Hülkenberg in between. It's also about points for the team. When it's that close, it's suddenly no longer the case that you win everything with Max."