Disappointed Norris On Verstappen: 'He Defends And Overtakes By Going Off Track'

Monday, 21 October 2024 at 11:55

McLaren driver Lando Norris commented on his battle with Max Verstappen after receiving a penalty and dropping a position at the 2024 United States Grand Prix.

Coming into the race weekend in Texas, Lando Norris was aware that he needed to outperform Max Verstappen by more than eight points if he wanted to retain the realistic chance of beating him in the Championship.

After qualifying on the pole with the Dutchman in P2, he was in a decent position to do so. However, the McLaren driver lost three positions during his battle with Verstappen in the first corner.

After falling to P4, Norris managed his pace and prepared for an attack in the second stint. On lap 44, he caught up with Verstappen, and the two battled for multiple consecutive laps.

On lap 52, Norris managed to get level with and a bit ahead of the triple World Champ on coming into the breaking zone in turn number 12 but was pushed wide on the exit and overtook Verstappen off the track.

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A big moment in the race and potentially the season 😮 Norris overtakes Verstappen but picks up a 5-second penalty for passing off track ✋ #F1 #USGP

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The McLaren F1 driver suggested that if Verstappen (on the inside) also went out of the track limits, he was in the right to keep his position and didn't have to return it.

However, stewards did not share his point of view and awarded him with a five-second penalty, which meant he ultimately finished behind the Red Bull Racing F1 driver. He told Sky Sports F1 after the race:

They [the stewards] obviously can't make up their minds for a few laps, so it's not an easy decision; otherwise, it would have come a bit sooner.

"I tried. He also went off the track. If he goes off the track, then clearly he has gone in way too hard and also gained an advantage by doing what he did. I don't make the rules, so.."

When asked whether there was anything that he could have done differently to not get the penalty and still finish ahead of Verstappen, Norris said:

"Yeah, potentially. I need to go and look at it again. I was pretty tight. Obviously, Max went for a tight gap. From inside the car, it's harder to say on some things and also easier to say with some things."

"He'd obviously committed quite a bit, which he has the right to do but again he went completely off the track. I don't know. I need to look back at it."

At the same time, Norris felt that the triple World Champion overtook him off the track in turn one on the opening lap of the race. At the time of this interview, he didn't know that Max Verstappen had just managed to stay within the white lines.

"At the same point, he's obviously overtaken by going off track, so I don't know what to do. He defends by going off track; he overtakes by going off track, but I'm not going to complain."