Lando Norris and Max Verstappen’s heated battle at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez made the headlines after the Mexico City GP, but even before the race had started, the two were having a go at each other.
Just a week before Mexico, there was controversy in the aftermath of the United States GP, when Norris, who gained advantage off track was given a five-second time penalty, which handed Verstappen a strong advantage in the standings. However, due to that incident and past inconsistencies regarding rules where drivers would push each other off the track, the drivers decided to talk things out with the FIA.
That’s where Norris and Verstappen clashed, although it wasn’t too serious. Naturally, they were under the spotlight, given their involvement in a title battle. On the Sky Sports F1 podcast, journalist Nigel Chiu revealed,
“We do believe Max and Lando had a little bit of back and forth… but it was all in good spirits.”
Chiu was referring to a meeting that involved all 20 F1 drivers, out of whom 19 agreed to the proposed rule changes, which presumably came into effect in Mexico City. The name of the odd one out remained unknown, as GDPA director George Russell did not reveal the same.
The argument Verstappen and Norris had in the discussion, however, set the premise for what turned out to be another fiery tussle between the Championship protagonists.
Norris’ win over Verstappen
Verstappen is still 47 points clear of Norris in the Drivers’ Championship standings. However, this gap could have been much larger had the Red Bull driver gotten away with his ultra-aggressive style of driving in Mexico.
Verstappen pushed Norris off-track and gained a place for which the stewards decided to punish him with a 20-second time penalty. It wasn’t clear whether this swift action was taken as a result of the discussion officials had with drivers, but it played to Norris’ advantage.
A long wait ⏱️
Red Bull had to endure a 20-second pause before they could work on Max Verstappen’s car after he was penalized for forcing Lando Norris off the track #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/zE7n0i9Hkg
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 29, 2024
Verstappen finished P6, whereas Norris got to spray champagne over race-winner Carlos Sainz from the second step of the podium.
A nervy end to the 2024 season awaits Verstappen now, especially if he accumulates more penalties in the last four Grand Prix weekends.
