Lando Norris admitted he was unsure how to react to Max Verstappen’s driving tactics after being penalized for overtaking his Formula 1 title rival during the United States Grand Prix.
As the pair battled for third place in the closing stages of the race, McLaren’s Norris attempted to pass Verstappen on the outside of Turn 12 but was forced off the track as the Red Bull driver delayed and failed to stay on the circuit.
Norris stayed on in the run-off area and returned to the track in front of Verstappen, but then received a five-second penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage’, which saw his position reversed at the checkered flag.
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Lando Norris made an overtake on Max Verstappen for third but appeared to go off track after both went wide.
Norris, whose deficit to Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship increased to 57 points with five rounds of the season remaining, had started on pole but lost the lead at the first corner when Verstappen dived on the inside and – same as the next. incident – forced McLaren off the track, and down to fourth place.
“He overtook me by going off the track, so I didn’t know what to do,” Norris said. Sky Sports F1. “He defends by going off the track, he overtakes by going off the track.
Referring specifically to the lap 52 incident where he was penalised, Norris added: “He went off the track too.
“So if he goes off the track, obviously he’s very tough and he’s got an advantage by doing what he’s doing. But I don’t make the rules.”
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Lando Norris was on the team radio complaining that Max Verstappen pushed him in the opening lap of the US Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who finished on the podium as Charles Leclerc led in front of Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari one-two, had expertly defended Norris for several laps before the incident, and the Brit also credited the three-time world champion for his efforts.
“I’m not going to complain about that,” Norris said. “I think Max drove well, he defended well and we had a good race, but the rules are the rules.”
Stella: The punishment for Norris is not appropriate
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the stewards’ decision to “intrude” by penalizing Norris was “inappropriate”.
He told me Sky Sports F1: “My view is that the way the stewards interfered with a very good motorsport because both cars went off the track, so both cars had an advantage.”
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Andrea Stella believes that Lando Norris and Max Verstappen’s cars both went off the track, so Lando should not have been given a penalty.
The steward explained in the official decision that the decision was dictated by the fact that Verstappen was ahead of Norris at the apex of Turn 12, denying the McLaren “right” in the corner.
Stella argued that Verstappen was only on top because the Dutchman had no intention of making the corner, which he said should have changed the stewards’ interpretation.
“I think the front at the top, in relation to the interpretation of the overtaking maneuver, is not the relevant one,” said Stella in his post-race briefing with reporters.
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Anthony Davidson was on SkyPad to review the Max Verstappen and Lando Norris event which saw Lando given a 5 second penalty for going off track.
“I think the defending car was just straight at the top. We checked the video several times. It was just straight, it just went off the track, like Lando did, it just didn’t give Lando a chance to complete the maneuver.
“If I were a journalist, I would do some statistics, how many times Max used this method to defend himself.
“Both cars came off the track, so I think both cars had an advantage, if there was an advantage.”
‘I think the penalty is for Verstappen’
Stella said that McLaren is so confident that Verstappen is opposed to Norris in the mistake that they alerted the Brit’s team-mate Oscar Piastri – running in fifth- who can profit from the penalty for the Red Bull driver.
“When I saw the investigation, I was pretty sure it was because Max pushed Lando off the track,” Stella said.
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Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson debate whether Lando Norris was given a five-second penalty after going off track in a battle with Max Verstappen.
“In fact, we immediately told Oscar, make sure you close five seconds on Max because there might be a position at stake.
“So, the interpretation of this situation between McLaren and the flight attendant is polar opposite.”
Stella also questioned the speed of the decision, which was made just minutes after the incident and seconds before the race was over.
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Highlights from the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
“I was surprised that the stewards didn’t feel the need to talk to the drivers after the race,” he said.
“It’s an uncertain situation – get the opinion of the drivers, get the time to assess the situation with the level of detail needed when the situation is unclear.
“So where is the urgency to interfere with the results of the race with the championship course? Just because you have to make a decision in 60 seconds? This is a question mark that I think the stewards should take, constructively, positively. Is it really necessary to make a decision quickly, and in our opinion , so wrong?”
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