'Stupid' Verstappen damages Norris friendship – International media reacts

George Russell capitalised on a controversial collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to claim a shock victory in the 2024 F1 Austrian Grand Prix. 

Verstappen and Norris jostled for the lead in the closing laps, before finally clashing! Both drivers crawled back to the pits, where Verstappen received repairs and Norris retired from the race. 

Russell was left to pick up the pieces, to claim Mercedes' first win since the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz completed the podium at the Red Bull Ring.

However, what did the rest of the world make of the race? Find out as RacingNews365 takes you through the headlines of some of the biggest global publications.

🇬🇧 The Times - 'Russell wins as ‘reckless’ Verstappen leaves Norris friendship in tatters'

Starting off in the United Kingdom, newspaper The Times has, of course, focused on the incident between Norris and Verstappen. 

The newspaper specifically questions whether Verstappen has damaged their friendship in the clash, with him having been judged by the FIA as the driver at fault. 

Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, with RacingNews365's viewers agreeing that the reigning world champion was to blame.

🇮🇹 La Gazzetta dello Sport - 'Norris attacks Verstappen: "Stupid and unfair". Max: "He dived late, he was aggressive"'

In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport has also focused on the collision between Norris and Verstappen. The duo's post-race comments have been discussed, with Norris having stated what Verstappen must do to regain his respect. 

Norris is insistent that Verstappen recognises it was his mistake, or risk the pair falling out. The British driver described the Red Bull star as "stupid and unfair", whilst Verstappen was adamant that Norris made his move too "late".

There were several close calls ahead of the collision on lap 64/71, with it having been a matter of time until a clash of this severity happened.

🇫🇷 L'Equipe - '“A little desperate and reckless”: Lando Norris scolds Verstappen after their collision in Austria'

In France, L'Eqiuipe has also focused on the big clash at the front, which was one of the biggest in-race incidents since, perhaps, 2021.

The French newspaper looked at Norris' post-race quotes in particular, and how furious he was with Verstappen. 

Undoubtedly, Norris had better pace than Verstappen after what was meant to be their final pit stops, as a result of Verstappenv struggling with grip. The big question now is, whether their friendship will be impacted. 

🇳🇱 De Telegraaf - 'Red Bull team boss Christian Horner: 'Two tough racers, this was kind of coming''

In the Netherlands, De Telegraaf looked at quotes from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who suspected that Verstappen and Norris would clash eventually.

Horner believes the duo are "tough" and that the collision has been brewing for weeks. Verstappen and Norris have finished in the top two in four of the last five races, with the two drivers being in a league of their own for a lot of this season. 

The Red Bull boss believes the sprint race was the start of things getting heated, after Verstappen and Norris nearly collided in that whilst fighting for the lead. On that occasion, Verstappen won the fight and the sprint.

🇩🇪 BILD - '“The stupidest thing I’ve ever done”'

In Germany, BILD has not focused mainly on Verstappen and Norris' clash. Instead, it has targeted an almost costly radio message by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. 

Following the Verstappen-Norris clash, Wolff got over-excited and jumped onto the radio to Russell. The Austrian shouted, 'George, you can win this!'.

However, in the excitement, Wolff failed to realise Russell was braking at 320 km/h. When a driver is braking, the radio is not supposed to be used to allow the driver to concentrate. Russell responded: "Just let me damn it drive!" After the race, Wolff was embarrassed by his radio call. 

🇦🇺 Herald Sun - '‘I rest my case’: F1 analyst destroys Verstappen, McLaren boss drops scathing truth bomb'

And finally, in Australia, the Herald Sun has also discussed Verstappen and Norris' clash. However, in this case, it has focused on a post-race analysis conducted by ex-F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Anthony Davidson. 

Davidson's analysis came after Verstappen, in the media pen, criticised the views of Sky's pundit team, who agreed the Dutchman was to blame. 

Davidson explained via replays whilst live-on-air why Verstappen was at fault, with him ending his analysis by stating: "I rest my case." The Australian publication believes Davidson destroyed Verstappen.