Max Verstappen and Lando Norris provided some of the closest wheel-to-wheel action seen during the 2024 season at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Both drivers were on their team radios throughout the battle to moan about what their closest championship rival was doing.
READ MORE: Everything Max Verstappen and Lando Norris said on the team radio during Austrian GP battle
Unfortunately, both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris picked up punctures when the McLaren driver went to the outside of the Dutchman’s Red Bull to try and take the lead during the final stint of the race.
There was contact and the stewards agreed with the likes of Martin Brundle and Damon Hill that Verstappen was at fault for the accident.
READ MORE: Damon Hill shares his verdict on the collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris
However, Peter Windsor was speaking on his YouTube channel and was closely studying the incident that defined the Austrian Grand Prix and handed George Russell his second Formula 1 win.
He spotted something while watching Max Verstappen’s onboard camera that suggests the Dutchman may have been unfairly punished by the stewards.
His ten-second time penalty had no impact on his 5 place finish and he still managed to extend his gap over Norris in the Drivers’ Championship to 81 points.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Max Verstappen onboard camera potentially shows Austrian Grand Prix penalty was harsh
Talking about the race-defining incident, Windsor said: “Going into the lap in question, going into turn three, Max [Verstappen] was doing his usual thing, he braked perfectly even though he didn’t have the same grip level as Lando [Norris].
“He didn’t lock up or anything, he’s on the inside, he was in the middle of the road and had the corner protected and again was making it clear that if Lando was going to pass him, then he was going to have to do it on the outside.
“Lando duly went up on the outside this time and I suspect his thinking was, I’ll do an undercut here on exit.
“And if you closely study Max’s onboard, he doesn’t actually move to the left at all.
“What is actually happening is the track is angled slightly to the left there. He keeps straight on the steering wheel, it looks as if he’s moving to the left which is possibly what the stewards are looking at.
“But with his steering angle, he doesn’t change anything, he keeps in a straight line.
“I think the real problem is Lando’s carrying the speed difference which is artificially big because of DRS.”
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collision could have been avoided
Verstappen was insistent after the race that he wasn’t moving in the braking zone, something Norris disagreed with on the team radio.
However, while he may not have turned towards Norris when they eventually tangled, the McLaren driver did run out of room on the outside of turn three and the camber of the track should have been taken into account.
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko suggested after the race that Norris was more at fault than Verstappen although that’s not a surprise given his allegiances.
However, Marko also talked about what Red Bull could have done to avoid the collision in the first place.
Firstly, the team made a rare error during Verstappen’s final pit stop that closed the gap and allowed Norris to get into the DRS zone.
Additionally, Norris was about to be handed a five-second penalty for breaching track limits.
If Red Bull had communicated this to Verstappen, he could have let Norris through and followed him until the end of the race.
However, that instruction might not have gone down well in the cockpit as the triple world champion isn’t known for letting another driver through no matter the consequences.
The post Peter Windsor shares camera angle that shows Max Verstappen wasn’t completely at fault for Austrian GP crash appeared first on F1 Oversteer.