'It's Crazy': Verstappen Dismisses Speculations About His Tactics In Norris US GP Battle
F1Friday, 25 October 2024 at 14:00
Max Verstappen responded to speculations suggesting he was never even trying to make the corner during the controversial battle with Lando Norris.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix (which comes just a week after the 2024 United States Grand Prix), both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were confronted with many questions about their controversial battle.
The McLaren Racing driver, who received a five-penalty that lost him valuable points in the Championship, suggested that he still doesn't agree with the stewards' verdict, even after a more careful review with his F1 team.
The main point that the stewards presented as a reason for his penalty was that he was not ahead at the apex and then overtook the track.
However, Norris argued that, first of all, he was more than a car length ahead before the braking zone, which meant he was no longer the one attacking. Hence, he gained no position by overtaking off the track.
And then, second of all, the 24-year-old believed he would have been ahead at the apex if Verstappen hadn't deliberately braked too late.
The triple World Champion, however, defended himself when speaking to the media in Mexico City, suggesting he always attempts to make the corner and stay within the white lines:
"It's quite impressive that people can read my mind [with apex tactics]. It's crazy."
"I always try to make the corner, I didn't want to look for a shortcut, so I don't even know what to answer to this one. We've always said we wanted to race each other hard, that's what we like to do."
Max Verstappen added that he ultimately didn't have the pace that he thought and hoped he would have during the 2024 United States Grand Prix weekend, which is what made everything so much harder for him.
"It was quite a difficult second stint. I lost a lot of grip on the front axle, it's very difficult to brake. That's what made my defence more difficult, because I know that if I braked a little bit too late, I would lock up and I really didn't have the front grip."
"It wasn't easy for me out there. I think all in all we still had a positive weekend for us, but still a few things, of course that we want to do better, to be in that fight."
"I honestly believed, going into the race, that I would be in the fight, and we weren't, so that wasn't ideal. But at least it did show some promising signs that maybe we could be back in the fight."
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