Lando Norris’ eye-watering repair bill after Austrian GP clash – report
Lando Norris pulls into the pits with a rear right puncture
The damage to Lando Norris’ MCL38 in his lap 64 clash with Max Verstappen has reportedly set McLaren back an eye-watering €595,000.
Norris and Verstappen crashed on lap 64 of the Austrian Grand Prix as the Briton tried to take the lead off Verstappen into the braking zone at Turn 3.
Lando Norris: My whole car’s destroyed…
Going around the outside of the Red Bull driver, Verstappen jinked to the left to close the door with the two making contact.
Both cars suffered rear-wheel punctures with Norris crawling back to the pits to retire his car while Verstappen pitted for new tyres and completed the Grand Prix in fifth place.
A fuming Norris told the media including PlanetF1.com that the damage to his vehicle, which included more than just the tyre, could put him at a “disadvantage” at Silverstone this weekend.
“The best bits of the car – all for the bin,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of space in the battle that we’re in, in terms of upgrades and budget cap and things like that.
“My whole car’s destroyed – and these are all the bits that we needed for next week.
“It’s not just a repercussion of what happens on the track, it’s everything that now we have to carry into Silverstone and be disadvantaged by.”
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According to Dutch website f1maximaal.nl, the damage to Norris’ MCL38, which included the floor, handed McLaren a repair bill that totalled “€595,000”.
Norris’ damaged included the front wing and nose, the sidepod, the rear wing, as well as the floor of the car.
Red Bull, though, didn’t come through unscathed as Verstappen’s floor and brake drum damage set the team back “€210,000”.
In the midst of Formula 1’s fourth season under a cost cap, Red Bull’s overall repair bill for the season, which included Sergio Perez’s huge Monaco GP crash, is edging towards €4 million while McLaren’s is just over €1.5m.
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