Christian Horner reveals how Lando Norris could’ve defeated Max Verstappen at US GP
Christian Horner revealed the method that would've allowed Lando Norris to steal Max Verstappen's podium finish in Austin.
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Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Christian Horner (VIa: Imago)
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris showcased great racing action towards the end of the US GP. Both drivers nearly collided with each other on multiple occasions as Verstappen emerged victorious for the podium finish. However, Norris still had the chance to defeat the Dutchman despite facing a five-second penalty. Christian Horner revealed the condition that would’ve enabled the Briton to win the US GP.
McLaren’s dominant pace was visible at the US GP as well despite Lando Norris losing out on the podium. Christian Horner pointed out that McLaren clearly had the upper hand in terms of pace advantage. Hence, it looked like Norris was going to cede position and allow Max Verstappen ahead of him at Turn 1. Even Horner believed that the Briton was going to give up the lead and fight once again.
With the car advantage and tyre advantage that McLaren had at that point of the race, it looked like he went to give the place back up at Turn 1.
Christian Horner told motorsportweek.com
Lando Norris still managed a four-second lead to Max Verstappen towards the end of the US GP. This meant that if Norris had given back the position, he would’ve easily fought for the podium. Christian Horner noted that there was some confusion on McLaren’s end. Subsequently, the Red Bull boss guessed that giving up positions would’ve actually helped the 24-year-old contend for the podium.
But there was some confusion there. If he’d have given the place back immediately, he would have probably had enough pace to make the pass [again].
Christian Horner added
Christian Horner praises ‘rapid and decent’ decision over Lando Norris’ penalty
The stewards decided to impose Lando Norris with a five-second time penalty for track limit violations. The decision was taken promptly after Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s complaint on the incident. Hence, Horner noted that such issues were so common that the stewards were able to deal with the issue very rapidly and decently.
It’s happened so many times that I actually think the stewards dealt with it pretty rapidly and decently today.
Christian Horner noted
Red Bull is currently 40 points behind McLaren with Ferrari also seeming to join the contention. The top three teams will showcase great racing action in the remaining five races. Both the championships are still available for grabs for either of the drivers at the forefront. As a result, the end-of-the-season battle will be extremely exciting for the fans and drivers alike.
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Aditya Pandya
(1440 Articles Published)