Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels the roots of the Austrian GP clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were in Barcelona

Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels the roots of the clash in Austria between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris lay at the start of the race in Barcelona. Norris started the F1 Spanish GP in pole position, with Verstappen alongside him on the front row.

At the start, Lando Norris moved right and almost pushed Max Verstappen’s Red Bull into evasive action, which meant the latter would dip a wheel of his car onto the grass. That incident didn’t have major repercussions for either driver, as the two were able to get away with it. In the F1 Austrian GP however, both Max and Lando would resume their battle at the front.

The intensity was even higher this time around and it featured Lando Norris attempting divebombs down the inside while Max Verstappen was moving under braking. As a result, the two would make contact as Verstappen’s Red Bull touched the McLaren, leading to punctures on both cars.

While both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have buried the hatchet and have made substantial attempts to move on, Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels that the clash began in Barcelona, where the two first came together. He told Sky Sports,

“For me, that incident started a week earlier on the run down to Turn One at Barcelona, where Lando had him on the grass. You are seeing they are starting to get feisty. These guys are racing each other and racing hard throughout their careers. You know what Max is like. He will fight for every inch of tarmac. I’m sure Lando will learn from that and Max too.”

Red Bull boss claims Max Verstappen and Lando Norris will learn from it

Red Bull boss Christian Horner touched on how both drivers have had a chance to talk this out and move on. After the collision, Max Verstappen revealed that Lando Norris had messaged him early Monday morning, which helped the two hash things out and move on from the incident.

Horner also touched on this, as he said that the incident and the aftermath will help the two learn and move on. He said,

“It’s hard racing between the two of them. They have spoken about it and obviously it’s been rowed back a bit from where Lando’s position was, understandably, following the emotion after the race. I’m sure we are going to see more hard racing between the two of them over the second half of the year. You learn from it and move on.”

There were suggestions throughout the week that the incident could drive a wedge between the two drivers but looking at how both of them have handled things in the aftermath, it does appear that their relationship will survive the aftermath of the clash.