The 2024 Italian GP weekend kicked off yesterday with the media sessions, and Daniel Ricciardo came up with his take on Lando Norris and Max Verstappen‘s Zandvoort outing. After winning the race by 22.9 seconds, Norris used Verstappen’s ‘simply lovely’ catchphrase and Ricciardo feels the Dutchman would’ve not taken very nicely to it.
Since 2022 (the start of the ground-effect era), Max Verstappen has dominated F1. The ‘simply lovely‘ remark has become synonymous with him and thus, seeing Lando Norris using it in Zandvoort, will not really sit well with the highly competitive Verstappen.
Daniel Ricciardo delved into the same during one of his media sessions yesterday.
Lando I think is also you know, his confidence is growing the longer he spends time in the sport, and then the more success he has. Very confident to throw a 'simply lovely' after the race. I know as much as they are friends, I know how competitive Max is, he would've not taken that very nicely (laughs).Daniel Ricciardo via Italian GP Thursday interviews
🗣️ Daniel: “Very confident [of Lando] to throw out a simply lovely after the race. As much as they’re friends, I know how competitive Max is. He would not have taken that very nicely, or too well. We’ll see how he responds this weekend.” #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/VT3XmBzjxo
— meredith (@mereeedithh) August 29, 2024Looking at the reaction of the eighth-time Grand Prix winner, things could get feisty between Verstappen and Norris during the ongoing Monza weekend. They already collided once this year at the Red Bull Ring, and things only escalated after that in the post-race interviews.
Max Verstappen happy seeing ‘young talents coming through’ in F1
While Ricciardo has insisted Verstappen would’ve not been happy with Norris’ Zandvoort antics, the Dutchman took the time to talk about the young F1 talents, in his Monza interviews. The 26-year-old is extremely pleased seeing the young guns coming into the pinnacle of motor racing.
F1 will see Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Monza FP1 for Mercedes, and the Argentine Franco Colapinto will make his full debut for Williams.
I'm in my 10th year of Formula 1 already, so I do feel a little bit older now that you see the seventeen and eighteen-year-olds knocking on the door, that's normal. But it's good for F1 to see the young talents come through.Max Verstappen via Italian GP Thursday interviews
Max: "I'm in my 10th year of Formula 1 already, so I do feel a *little* bit older now that you see the seventeen and eighteen year olds knocking on the door! But it's good for F1 to see the young talents come through"pic.twitter.com/T5sl4hU2x9
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) August 29, 2024The hype for the Italian GP has built up nicely this week and with FP1 just a few hours away, the whole circuit is expected to be swarming with fans. Ferrari’s Tifosi fan base will be in high spirits and from Verstappen and Red Bull’s point of view, it will be important to get things right from the get-go.
Otherwise, they could have a torrid weekend seeing the back of top outfits like McLaren and Mercedes. Moreover, Ferrari could also come up with a few surprises at their home Grand Prix.
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