Penalty For Norris 'Wasn't Necessary' According To Schumacher

Wednesday, 23 October 2024 at 16:12

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher shared his own opinion on the battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at the 2024 United States Grand Prix.

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris took a big hit in the Drivers' Championship after the 19th round of the season in Austin where he lost five points to Max Verstappen throughout the weekend.

First, the 24-year-old lost two points compared to the Dutchman in the Sprint race. While he could have eliminated this loss in the Grand Prix, where he was overall faster than the Red Bull Racing driver, Norris ultimately finished behind Verstappen, losing 3 more points.

The disappointing thing for the McLaren driver and his team was that he actually crossed the finish line ahead of the 27-year-old Championship rival, but a five-second penalty from a controversial incident moved him behind Verstappen.

Speaking about the incident itself, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher suggested he didn't think a penalty was necessary for Lando Norris. He told Sky Deutschland:

"In my opinion, Verstappen got stuck in. There was no room for Norris at that moment, and he would have preferred to take a better line."

Read also

Button Points Out Problem With Regulations That Verstappen Takes Advantage Of

"I think it's a shame. It was racing for me. Max tried everything, Lando tried everything. The penalty wasn't necessary for me."

Stewards, who awarded Norris with the five-second penalty, explained that going off the track and overtaking a rival is just not allowed, adding that Verstappen was ahead at the apex of the corner and, therefore, the McLaren F1 driver was not entitled to the space on the outside.

While Schumacher gets why stewards made such a decision, he added he doesn't think it's fair if Verstappen can defend his position by simply not breaking enough, therefore being earlier in the apex and just driving out of the track.