Norris: I don't know what to say... I'm disappointed

Here's a prelude to this report. What Austrian Grand Prix FIA F1 Stewards said of the collision between Verstappen and Norris:
"Car 1 [Verstappen] was approaching turn 3 with Car 4 [Norris] alongside on his left. Before turning in, the driver of Car 1 moved to the left, causing a collision with Car 4. The Stewards determine that the driver of Car 1 was predominantly at fault and therefore impose the above-mentioned penalty in line with precedents."

Norris and Verstappen, who until this day appeared to have mutual respect and a friendship beyond the track, collided while disputing the lead of the race in Spielberg. But that bond will be sorely tested after Verstappen punted Norris causing an eventual DNF for the McLaren driver while the World Champ recovered from the collision, boxed and resumed to finish P5

Sadly it might've been P1 and P2 for the 'mates' but Verstappen had other thoughts, denied himself a 62nd F1 victory, and Norris his second. The latter probably hurts more.

Indeed, it was a pained and downbeat Norris who reflected on a disappointing afternoon that had promised so much, the Englishman told Sky F1 "I don't know what to say, I'm disappointed. Nothing more than that honestly.

"It was a good race, I looked forward to a fair and strong battle, I wouldn't say that wasn't what it was at the end, so a tough one to take. It was a mistake-free race from my side, I did a good job."

During the duel, Norris reported Vesrtappen's weaving tactics over the radio. But they fell on deaf ears and ultimately led to the collision. The McLaren driver pointed out: "It's a rule, you are not allowed to react to the driver and that's what he did three times out of three.

"Two times I managed to avoid it and the three time he just rode into me. I'm just trying to enjoy my race, he was clearly slower in the end and he ruined his own race as much as he ruined mine. Nothing more I can do, I did my best and it wasn't good enough but not through my own fault."

Of the dodgy tactics his rival employing Norris: "There are rules and if the rules aren't followed there's nothing I can do about that, I just had to do my job and go out and drive, and drive fast, and doing what I did today which isn't good enough for the win.

Norris continued: "I'm just going to carry on with what I'm doing, I'm doing a good job and my efforts, and my improvements from yesterday to today, and onto Silverstone. I'm happy with the team and everything we are doing but I got let down today."

As for his oft-quoted 'friendship' with Verstappen, Norris said: "I don't know, it depends what he says, if he says he did nothing wrong, then I will lose a lot of respect for that. If he admits to being a bit stupid, running into me and being a bit reckless in a way.

"Then I will lose only a small amount of respect for him. It's a tough one to take when fighting for the win, I was trying to be fair from my side and he just wasn't," insisted Norris.

In a typically classy reaction from McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, who aptly summed up Verstappen's shenanigans at Red Bull Ring: "I see what the entire population of the world saw and know who is responsible except for a group of people."