The 2024 US GP sprint race was a thrilling encounter from lap 1. McLaren’s Lando Norris zipped into P2 at the start but lost out to the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz by the final stages of the race. Moreover, on the last lap, Norris got tangled in a battle for the last podium position with Charles Leclerc.
Into the final sector, Norris aggressively defended his position — almost collecting the front wing of the #16 driver’s SF-24 into the back of his own diffuser.
This prompted Martin Brundle to say, “Lando went really tight into the apex of the two left handers and nearly paid a very heavy penalty for that. He braked extremely early, wanted to cover the inside line, so reduced speed to do that and almost caught Leclerc out. It was pretty unorthodox to do that,” per Sky Sports F1.
Leclerc himself wasn’t too pleased about Norris‘ defending. His race engineer, Bryan Bozzi intimated that the team intended to lodge a complaint with the Stewards. At the time of writing, the FIA has registered Ferrari’s protest.
| Lando Norris has been noted for “driving eratically.”
This is related to his battle with Leclerc on the final lap.
— formularacers (@formularacers_) October 19, 2024
As per reports, the FIA has noted the British driver for driving erratically on the last lap of the 19-lap sprint race at COTA. As of the time of writing, no official decision has been rendered by the Stewards yet.
Norris might lose the championship after last-lap scrap with Leclerc
If the FIA does deem Norris to be at fault, the #4 driver could be disqualified from the results of the race or get a post-race time penalty. This could drastically change the complexion of the championship battle.
As things stand, Verstappen has extended his championship over Norris after winning the sixth consecutive sprint race since last season. The Dutchman scored eight points and now sits with a 54-point advantage over the McLaren driver.
Notwithstanding what the FIA decides, the Austin sprint event was an ominous sign for Norris’ title chances. The RB20 and Verstappen hadn’t won a race since the Spanish GP and looked off the pace. But the upgrade package the team brought to COTA this weekend seems to have rejuvenated the car and addressed its issues.
Verstappen took a comfortable pole position in Friday’s sprint qualifying and led the race today from flag to flag. With only six races left, time is running out for Norris to take the advantage. Amid this, Red Bull looks like they are finally back.
