Lando Norris weighs in on George Russell, Max Verstappen spat

Lando Norris has given his view on the spat between Max Verstappen and George Russell following the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.

There’s been a war of words between Verstappen and Russell after the former received a one-place grid penalty following qualifying in Qatar.

Verstappen was irked by the penalty and Russell’s alleged behaviour in the stewards’ office.

Verstappen described Russell’s behaviour as “unacceptable” and that he had never seen someone act like that before.

The four-time world champion didn’t back down when speaking to the media on Thursday in the FIA press conference, stating: “I meant everything that I said”.

Shortly after, Russell hit back at Verstappen, with a series of digs and comments about how the Dutchman deals with adversity.

Norris, who is friends with both drivers, gave his view on the situation.

“So, you have the two sides. You have the side of... we're paid to come here and to race and to perform well for our team,” Norris explained to media in Abu Dhabi, where Crash.net are present in the paddock.

“In some ways, no matter what, at what cost, you want to win and you want to give yourself the best opportunity. For George, that was by saying probably what he said and doing what he said.

“At times, I think between drivers, you have that amount of respect when something happens, you're like, like, ‘that's racing, well, that's just what happens sometimes’, and you don't want either of them to get a penalty, because it's racing and, ‘oh, it's just a situation where no one should really get a penalty’.

“Mercedes are not fighting for a championship or something like that, so they're kind of clinging on to a bit more than what Max is. So, they're going to do what all it takes to try and get a pole or try and get a win. So, maybe he's paid the price a little bit of that from a respect, amount of respect from Max.

“But... everyone does things their own way. Some fight harder for things, some fight less. But I enjoy watching them argue like they do.”

Norris reflects on his Qatar penalty 

Another controversial moment in Qatar was Norris picking up a 10-second stop-go penalty for speeding under double-waved yellow flags.

Norris was handed the penalty after Verstappen noticed his lead had significantly reduced.

After complaining over team radio, the incident was soon investigated with Norris picking up a hefty penalty.

Norris has no issue with Verstappen’s involvement, admitting “every driver on the grid” would do the same.

“Ah, yes. I mean, to be honest, I think every driver on the grid would do the same as what Max did,” he added.

“That's racing, you know, there's the rules. Max could tell I didn't obey the rules.

“I could have done, I still could have lifted - and he just doesn't know, but he's thought of something, and he said it. That's completely fine by me.”