Lando Norris brutally mocked Sergio Perez after the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi, after the Red Bull driver crashed into him at the tight Turn 6.
The duo collided mid-race when Perez was fighting his way towards the front, with Norris having recognised that the 33-year-old had better pace.
As a result, Norris tried to let Perez past by taking a wider line at the hairpin, so that the Mexican driver could overtake on his inside.
Perez attempted this but instead collided into the side of Norris, with the McLaren driver now admitting that he was “expecting” to be hit by the Red Bull driver.
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The collision resulted in Perez being slapped with a five-second time penalty, although he still finished ahead of Norris even when the penalty was added to his finishing time.
Norris had to settle for fifth whilst Perez finished fourth; however, he would’ve claimed second if it weren’t for his time penalty.
It’s not the first time Perez has been penalised for hitting another driver, as he was also penalised at the Japanese Grand Prix for crashing into the side of Kevin Magnussen.
Perez causing collisions is “nothing new” according to Norris, who admitted after the race that the experienced driver “crashes into a lot of people”.
“I was expecting it to be honest. It was nothing new. He crashes into a lot people so not something new for anyone to know,” Norris told ViaPlay. “But I did give him a lot of space. And so it didn’t change my race in the end of the day. So it was a tough day. We just didn’t have the pace we wanted.
“We struggled a little bit just, one-tenth a lap. One and a half tenths lap was all I needed to maybe catch the cars ahead, but we didn’t have it. I’m still happy we as a team beat Aston Martin, that was our target and we achieved it.”
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It is, of course, Norris who’s being heavily linked with a move to Red Bull, when his McLaren deal expires at the end of 2025.
Perez’s contract is due to expire at the end of 2024, meaning that Red Bull will need to give somebody a deal for 2025, before potentially approaching Norris for the start of the new power unit regulations.
Norris and Max Verstappen have both expressed their interest in being team-mates, something which is more likely to happen at Red Bull than McLaren, as the three-time World Champion has a deal until the end of 2028.