“All three times he was doing things that can easily cause an incident,” Norris said. “And in a way just a bit reckless; seemed a little bit desperate from his side.
“He doesn’t need to be. He has plenty of wins. I expect a fair, respectful on-the-edge bit of racing and I don’t feel that’s what I got.”
Norris, who was challenging the world champion for the lead in the closing laps after the Red Bull driver had been delayed by a slow final pit stop, felt Verstappen had several times moved under braking when defending his position.
The pair have become the dominant forces in Formula 1 since the Miami Grand Prix in early May, but until this weekend at the Red Bull Ring they had not disputed the lead wheel to wheel on track.
Their first duel, in the sprint race, ended with Verstappen on top and Norris admonishing himself for being “pretty stupid”. A little over 24 hours later, their battle finally boiled over in a frenetic 12-lap scrap.
“I expect a tough battle with Max,” Norris said. “I expect aggression and pushing the limit. I respect Max a lot but there are times when he goes a little bit too far.”
Before their crash on lap 64, which gave both a puncture, Norris had already complained a number of times about Verstappen changing his line in the braking zone or “moving under braking”, as it is known in F1 parlance. Because of the danger this involves as drivers are right on the edge in an overtaking move, this is very much frowned upon.
Verstappen inevitably did not agree – but was given a 10-second penalty for the move at Turn Three in which he crowded Norris to the edge of the track.
It led to the McLaren’s retirement because of damaged bodywork – which may yet have repercussions for Norris in terms of parts availability at this coming weekend’s British Grand Prix. Verstappen managed to recover to finish fifth.