No hard feelings for Verstappen and Norris: 'Everything okay between us'

A collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris almost came to a head during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, with the latter only just avoiding the Dutchman's Red Bull. Both drivers were not particularly happy with each other afterwards, but Verstappen assures that it will have no impact on the friendship between the two.

During the final part of qualifying, both drivers were on their out lap, but Norris decided to begin his fast lap earlier. To do that, he wanted to overtake Verstappen, but the Red Bull Racing driver did not expect the move at that point because of the 'gentlemen's agreement' in place. Norris in turn felt aggrieved by Verstappen's action, who skidded away on his cold tyres and almost hit the McLaren driver as a result.

No hard feelings between Verstappen and Norris

It caused an unusual disagreement between the two drivers, who are good friends off the track. After a joint analysis at the stewards, the two soon agreed and Norris no longer felt Verstappen deserved a penalty for his action. The stewards partially went along with this and decided not to give the Dutchman a penalty, but did give him a reprimand. "Lando thought I turned into him on purpose, but when he looked at the footage and saw that I was sliding on cold tyres he came back on that," explained Verstappen.

Fortunately, fans need not fear for the friendship between the duo. "Not at all. Everything is still okay between us," Verstappen assured The Telegraph. The Red Bull driver will start from pole position on Sunday, in a race where his starting position could prove crucial due to the changing weather conditions on the Suzuka Circuit.