Lando Norris doubles down on ‘rash’ US GP penalty after losing P3 to Max Verstappen
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen continued their tradition of on-track battles at US GP, which ended with the Brit facing a time penalty.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
The incident on lap 52 of US GP, has left a mark in Lando Norris‘ title ambitions. The Briton had a huge tire offset to Max Verstappen and was on course to overtake him. On the other other hand, the Dutchman put a stern defence, which saw both of them tripping over each other in the dying stages of the race. However, with a grit between his teeth, Norris did not give back the track position to Verstappen, resulting in him earning a five-second penalty, and claimed the penalty to be given hurriedly.
The penalty which Lando Norris earned for overtaking Max Verstappen off the track, had major consequences. The McLaren driver was demoted to P4 when the chequered flag fell, as Verstappen was reinstated the P3 with the help of the penalty. On the contrary, this decision did not sit well with multiple figures within the paddock, including the Brit.
Subsequently, Norris explained how the action taken by the stewards was a rash decision.
For me it’s just a rash decision. They don’t hear or understand our points, which they should do after the race. They just want to make a decision at the time so they don’t alter points and podiums and things like that. But they don’t hear my point or my team’s point or Max’s point, which I don’t think is the most correct thing. But today it’s a penalty and there’s not a lot I can do apart from accept that.
Lando Norris said in a post-race interview as quoted by BBC
Despite his criticism, the penalty given was accepted by the Englishman. This referred to a change in his mentality from earlier this year, when the pair came together in Austria. However, his championship charge has slowed down and the gap to Verstappen has grown in the title fight.
Oscar Piastri shared his take on the incident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
On the other hand, the US GP weekend saw multiple drivers getting penalised for overtaking offences. One of them was Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, who was penalised for forcing another driver off-track during the Sprint race.
Moreover, when the Aussie reflected at the incident, he claimed that it should have been a slam dunk penalty for the Red Bull driver owing to the similarity of the incident.
I’ve seen the incident, pretty harsh. I had a similar incident yesterday in max’s position and I was the one who got the penalty so I’m sure we’ll have some questions.
Oscar Piastri said
On the other hand, Piastri had a mediocre weekend in Austin. The 23-year-old did not score a point during the Sprint and salvaged a P5 finish during the main Grand Prix. This did not aid McLaren much in their constructor’s championship fight as they gained a few points over Red Bull.
In contrast, Ferrari had a stellar weekend with an impressive showing in both Sprint and the Grand Prix on the Sunday. Thus, the Italian powerhouse has catapulted itself into a position for fighting for the constructor’s title, as they are anticipated to leapfrog Red Bull in the next few weekends.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)