Does Verstappen's RASH clash with Norris represent F1 vulnerability?

It's been a smooth sailing ride for Max Verstappen over the past few years - but out of almost nowhere, he's under intense pressure.

And his rash approach to Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix reveals all you need to know about the situation.

Verstappen appeared to be breezing towards a comfortable third consecutive win before a slow pitstop from his Red Bull team dropped him into the clutches of McLaren's Lando Norris.

READ MORE: Red Bull to host return of F1 race winner

As the brit Bore down on the gearbox of Verstappen’s Red Bull, the usually unerring Dutchman began driving desperately and dangerously, weaving on the straights to block Norris’ path forwards before moving very late in the braking zones to make it impossible for his rival to pass.

Verstappen had reverted to his 2021 self – here he was refusing to yield, refusing to finish second, refusing to lose face, choosing to cause a collision rather than risk losing out to his closest challenger, as he did on so many occasions when fighting Lewis Hamilton for his maiden title three years ago.

Has Max Verstappen taken a step back?

The 26-year-old has evolved into a much more mature, consistent and efficient driver since then, those developments largely aided by the fact that his dominance of the championship has rendered his competitors little more than sporadic annoyances in the vast majority of races in F1’s new era.

But in Styria he took all of those steps back, even down to his refusal to accept responsibility for the incident after the race, in which he finished fifth with a time penalty while Norris was forced to retire.

“From the outside it’s hard to see when I brake,” Verstappen said. “I know in the past that has always been a bit of a complaint. [But] I always turned my wheel before I braked. I think the Everyone can have their own opinion but I’m the one driving. Whatever… it’s what happens.

Verstappen even went so far as to suggest that both Norris and the profile of the corner were at fault. “I felt like sometimes his divebombs are so late on the brakes,” Verstappen added. “I think it’s also the shape of the corner which provides these kind of issues sometimes. It’s never nice to come together. It’s unfortunate that happened.”

A dejected Norris, on the other hand, was emphatic in his view on the collision. “I looked forward to a strong, fair race, but I wouldn’t say it was that in the end. I was taken out of the race. You’re not allowed to react to the other driver and that’s what he did. He ruined his own race just as much as he ruined mine. If he says he did nothing wrong, I would lose a lot of respect for that.”

By the time the two came together on Lap 64, a collision seemed inevitable given Verstappen’s clear, bullish insistence that Norris would not be allowed to pass no matter what.

When it came, the incident destroyed the weekends of both men, though the fact that Verstappen was able to continue and secure a not insignificant haul of points meant the damage was far more significant for Norris.

As enthralling as the battle and the chaos the collision led to was, it could have all have been avoided had Verstappen’s erratic behaviour rightly been ruled in by F1’s stewards. Despite the clear evidence that the championship leader was driving beyond the limits of the rules, the stewards were far too slow to react, only intervening to give Verstappen a penalty once Norris had already been punted out of the race.

Were there a chance that both drivers were at fault, or that this was simply hard-fought, close racing, the delay would be understandable. But this was about as clear cut a breach of driving standards as realistically possible – everybody watching on at the track, on the pitwall, or on television knew precisely what was happening.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was left understandably furious following the chequered flag, but focused some of his ire on the lack of intervention from F1’s rule enforcers.

“The entire population of the world knows who is responsible,” he raged. “Things were not addressed properly in the past when there were some fights with [Max and] Lewis which were not punished enough. We have so much respect for Red Bull and for Max – they don’t need to do this. This is a way to compromise their reputation.

“It’s about racing within the regulations and the regulations must be enforced in a way that is effective. The punishment must be proportionate. We had before that episode twice moving under braking.”

And therein lies the key – only Verstappen and Red Bull can decide how they behave on track when under pressure. But if they cross the line, as was the case in Austria and so many times during their war with Hamilton, then the stewards must use their power to act quickly to rein them in.

The man responsible for Sunday’s crash was unquestionably Verstappen. But far more people than him had the power to avert it in their hands.

Now that McLaren have a car which can genuinely compete with Red Bull’s, and that Norris knows the pressure he is putting on Verstappen is starting to worry him, the fair officiating of their fights becomes one of the most important issues in Formula 1.

READ MORE: Where does Red Bull legend Adrian Newey shift to next?

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