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SILVERSTONE, England — Any chance of Formula One<\/a>‘s friendly rivalry between Max Verstappen<\/a> and Lando Norri<\/a>s turning into something more serious was ended with a phone call between the pair earlier this week.<\/p>\n The long-time pals and sim racing teammates collided while fighting for the lead at the Austrian Grand Prix last Sunday, prompting a furious response from McLaren in the aftermath.<\/p>\n Norris suggested Verstappen had been “reckless”<\/a> and said he would lose respect for his friend if the three-time world champion did not apologise. An irritated McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had suggested Verstappen was never properly punished<\/a> for supposed transgressions in 2021 against Lewis Hamilton<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arriving at Silverstone, the stage appeared set for an almighty war of words to continue. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> joked about how extreme he imagined the narrative around the incident would be.<\/p>\n “I’m assuming they’ve probably blown it up, because it’s obviously a battle for the lead. ‘Once friends, now enemies!’ It’s probably that going on,” Ricciardo said, laughing. “I can only imagine.”<\/p>\n As it turns out, there is no simmering feud between Verstappen and Norris.<\/p>\n “The only thing that I cared about is maintaining my relationship with Lando, because we are great friends,” Verstappen said on Thursday<\/a>. “That for me, after the race, I said we have to just let things cool down because emotions run high.”<\/p>\n