Lando Norris has admitted he is unsure of how to respond to Max Verstappen’s driving tactics after being penalised for an overtake on 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 around the outside of Turn 12 but was forced off track as the Red Bull driver broke late and failed to stay within the confines of the circuit.
Norris kept his foot down in the run-off area and returned to the track ahead of Verstappen, but then received a five-second penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage’, which saw their positions reversed at the chequered flag.
Norris, whose deficit to Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship grew to 57 points with five rounds of the season remaining, had started on pole but lost the lead at the first corner as Verstappen dived up the inside and – similarly to the later incident – forced the McLaren off track, and down to fourth place.
“He’s overtaken by going off track, so I don’t know what I’m meant to do,” Norris told Sky Sports F1. “He defends by going off track, he overtakes by going off track.
Referring specifically to the lap 52 incident for which he was penalised, Norris added: “He also went off the track.
“So, if he goes off the track, clearly he’s gone in way too hard and also gained an advantage by doing what he did. But I don’t make the rules.”
Verstappen, who finished on the podium as Charles Leclerc led home Carlos Sainz in a 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 it,” Norris added. “I think Max drove well, he defended well and we had a good race together, but the rules are the rules.”
Stella: Penalty for Norris was inappropriate
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the stewards’ decision to “interfere” by giving Norris a penalty was “inappropriate”.
He told Sky Sports F1: “My view is the way the stewards interfered with a beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate because both cars went off track, so both cars gained an advantage.”
The stewards explained in their official ruling that the decision was dictated by the fact Verstappen was ahead of Norris at the apex of Turn 12, denying the McLaren the “right” to the corner.
Stella argued that Verstappen was only ahead at the apex because the Dutchman had no intention of making the corner, which he said should have altered the stewards’ interpretation.
“I think ahead at the apex, in relation to the interpretation of the overtaking manoeuvre, is not the relevant bit,” Stella said in his post-race briefing with journalists.
“I think the defending car goes just straight at the apex. We checked the video multiple times. It’s just going straight, it’s just going off track, as much as Lando is doing, just giving no chance for Lando to complete the manoeuvre.
“If I were a journalist, I would have done a bit of statistics, how many times Max has used this way for defending.
“Both cars go off track, so I think both cars are gaining an advantage, if there’s an advantage gained.”
‘I thought the penalty was for Verstappen’
Stella said McLaren were so confident that it was Verstappen as opposed to Norris in the wrong that they alerted the Brit’s team-mate Oscar Piastri – running in fifth- that he might profit from a penalty for the Red Bull driver.
“When I saw that there was an investigation, I was pretty sure that was because Max pushed Lando off the track,” Stella said.
“In fact, we told immediately Oscar, make sure you close five seconds on Max because there could be a position at stake.
“So, the interpretation of this situation between McLaren and the stewards is polar opposite.”
Stella also questioned the speed of the decision, which came through just a few minutes after the incident and just seconds before the end of the race.
“I am surprised that the stewards didn’t even feel the need to discuss with the drivers after the race,” he added.
“It is an uncertain situation – get the opinion of the drivers, get the time to assess the situation with the level of detail that is required when the situation is not so clear.
“So where is the urgency to interfere with the result of a race with a championship course? Just because you have to make the decision in 60 seconds? It’s a question mark that I think the stewards should take, constructively, positively. Is it really needed to make a decision so quickly, and in our opinion, so wrongly?”
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