“What a joke!” – Fans furious over Lando Norris’ five-second penalty for move on Max Verstappen at US GP

Lando Norris was handed a five-second penalty for his iffy moment with Max Verstappen into turn 12 at Austin.

“What a joke!” – Fans furious over Lando Norris’ five-second penalty for move on Max Verstappen at US GP

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

After dominating the weekend in Singapore, Lando Norris anticipated having a great outing in Austin. Despite securing the pole, he lost multiple positions to rivals due to a moment with Max Verstappen going into turn 1 on the first lap. Ironically, in a similar fashion, towards the latter end of the race, he had a close encounter with Verstappen going into turn 12, where both drivers went off track and the McLaren driver had been held responsible for the whole ordeal.

Lando Norris‘ turn 12 moment with Max Verstappen resulted him in getting a five-second penalty. This infuriated the fans as they argued that FIA had been tormenting the sport’s spirit as overtaking is part of the game. Moreover, the 24-year-old was arguably ahead of the Dutchman at the apex, which could have held the Red Bull driver accountable for the subsequent actions.

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However, this disparity was not appreciated by the F1 community who insisted that handing the penalty to Norris was totally absurd.

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These arguments refer to a change of mentality within drivers, who would not dare to go for a move, knowing others could outbreak them and drive them off track. Thus, FIA would be questioned regarding the consistency of the penalties they have handed out recently.

Will Lando Norris regret staying stubborn on not letting Max Verstappen back past?

With the McLaren driver being penalized for his driving, questions started rising against the McLaren pit wall. Norris’ engineer had asserted that he would not be penalized for the lap 52 incident and recommended to not give the position to Verstappen. This eventually played a key role in stewards deciding that the former had gone past the rulebooks.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Subsequently, the three-time race winner looked upon how he should have given back the position. This would have helped him get a few more chances to overtake the reigning champion before the end of the race, and possibly get up on the podium.

Oh yeah, then i should’ve just got back behind him, shouldn’t I.

Lando Norris said over the radio

On the other hand, Ferrari was the team to look out for at the US Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc dominated the 56-lap race after inheriting the lead at turn one, with Carlos Sainz following in to complete a Ferrari 1-2. Thus, the constructor’s battle is still on as the prancing horses make a charge at the top two teams.