“He pushed me off,” Lando Norris left FUMING after Max Verstappen’s aggressive move at US GP start
Lando Norris lost the advantage of starting on pole as he had a close moment with Max Verstappen, which infuriated the Brit.
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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)
After a mediocre Sprint yesterday, Lando Norris hoped to cut his deficit to Max Verstappen in the main US Grand Prix. However, his lead soon went away as he had a close moment with his championship rival, Max Verstappen going into Turn 1. This left the 24-year-old fuming as he asserted that the Dutchman intentionally pushed him off the track.
Lando Norris bagged in pole for the Grand Prix after an impressive qualifying session. On the other hand, starting at the front has not been great for pole-sitters in Austin. The previous six iterations of the race only saw a single race being led by the driver who started in P1. Moreover, this statistic had the best of Norris as Max Verstappen lunged at the inside of Turn 1 and drove himself and the Brit off the track.
This left his championship rival fuming, who asserted that the Dutchman had the intention of getting past by even employing dirty techniques.
He clearly pushed me off. He had no intent to make the corner. And he himself went off the track.
Lando Norris said over the radio
On the other hand, Norris has not been the fastest driver as the Ferrari drivers have lit up the track with the blazing-fast pace of the SF-24. Moreover, the chaos at Turn 1 benefitted Charles Leclerc, who is currently in the prime position to win the 56-lap race.
McLaren reckons Max Verstappen should be penalized for his incident with Lando Norris
While Turn 1 incidents at COTA have usually been overlooked by the stewards as first-lap shenanigans, McLaren has been keen on getting the 27-year-old hit with a penalty. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown did not hold back on the allegations and lashed out at the Red Bull driver for his antics.
Subsequently, the American explained that Oscar Piastri was hit with a penalty during the Sprint for a similar move and reckoned that the Dutchman should be treated similarly by the stewards.
It’s the exact penalty that Oscar[Piastri] got yesterday.
Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1
As it stands, Norris is expected to finish in P4 as the prancing horses appear to be the fastest out on track. However, the silver lining to this could be Verstappen’s RB20 throwing tantrums at him as he is facing reliability issues. This could aid the Englishman in leapfrogging him during the pitstop phase.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)