The US GP incident between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris that ended with the Briton getting a five-second penalty has raised a lot of controversy as to whether Norris’s penalty was justified. And while Verstappen has maintained his stance that he did nothing wrong in Austin, he has now suggested how the FIA can avoid such incidents in the future.
After the qualifying session in Mexico, Verstappen spoke to the Dutch media and reiterated his stance on the incident. However, he also suggested that on tracks like COTA, where there is a lot of run-off area outside the track limits, the FIA should use gravel traps to prevent such incidents from happening.
Altra visuale della controversa battaglia in curva 12 ad Austin tra @Max33Verstappen e @LandoNorris ( IG: mosseyj) #F1 #USGP #Norris #Verstappen pic.twitter.com/uhKBbuDy2t
— RobertoF1 (@robertofunoat) October 26, 2024
“If there had been a gravel trap next to the asphalt, you would not end up in these types of situations at all. On the outside, you would never brake too late, because then you run the risk of going off. The same applies to the inside – you would then steer a lot more calmly,” Verstappen said, as quoted by Formule1.nl.
However, Verstappen mentioned that even if this idea was implemented, he would still not change a thing about his approach to wheel-to-wheel racing. “I am not going to change anything. Even if there are gravel traps, that will not change anything for me in terms of racing,” the Dutchman added.
Despite all the controversy surrounding the incident, Verstappen did use the regulations to his advantage.
Verstappen pushes the regulations to its limits
There has been a lot of debate about whether the driver on the inside should be allowed to let off the brake to stay ahead at the apex even if it means running both the cars wide. However, as per the rules, it is implicit that it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you stay ahead at the apex.
And while both Verstappen and Norris went outside the track limits in turn 12, since the Red Bull was ahead at the apex, Verstappen got away with it and Norris ended up with a five-second penalty, which cost him the final podium spot.
In the end, the Dutchman increased his lead in the standings by five points over the Austin weekend. As for the FIA regulations, there is a notion of updating these rules for clarity about wheel-to-wheel combat. However, there is no doubt that Verstappen will continue to use the current rules to his advantage.
