Max Verstappen showed his class in Austin by putting up a staunch defense against his championship rival Lando Norris. It was an enthralling battle between the two drivers for the final podium place in the last 14 laps of the US Grand Prix. But it also caused controversy with Norris emerging as the losing party, as the Briton overtook Verstappen off the track at turn 12.
The McLaren driver received a five-second time penalty that demoted him off the podium, to Verstappen’s gain. Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle opined that Norris should have given the place back to the Dutchman, with the long-term picture of the championship battle in context.
This Norris and Verstappen incident is being investigated by the stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage pic.twitter.com/jwfyWMEMvQ
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Brundle said, “I think that’s a fair cop [penalty] for Norris. I think he would have been better giving that back straight away. Had he found another one second in the last few laps, it would have been the right thing to do.”
The former McLaren driver rightly deemed how the five-second penalty was “inevitable” for Norris, given past precedents of such off-track overtakes. Usually, drivers have to give the place back in such instances as the stewards deem that they gained an unfair advantage by leaving the track and passing the car in front.
Had Norris given it back, he would have avoided getting the five-second penalty and got a few more chances to retake P3 from Verstappen. However, the 24-year-old — feeling the heat of Verstappen’s supreme defense — was unaware of the possibility of a time penalty coming his way.
After the race, Norris came on the radio to express the same to his team. He said, “Then I should have just come back behind him, shouldn’t I.” The British driver has lacked this awareness several times this season in the high-pressure battles and Austin was another similar instance.
Verstappen’s take on Norris’ penalty in Austin
Verstappen kept his calm despite being under constant pressure from the charging MCL38 of Norris. The three-time world champion showed why he has been the best in the business for the past four years. When the Briton passed him off the track at turn 12, Verstappen calmly came on the radio to claim that it was an illegal pass.
There was a sense of confidence in his voice despite being on the back foot against the most consistent car in the field in recent times. When asked in his post-race interview about Norris’ overtake, Verstappen did not express any explicit ‘opinion’, perhaps to avoid making any headlines.
However, as he went into the cooldown room, the 27-year-old discussed with Carlos Sainz why Norris got the penalty. Verstappen has shown this maturity of not reacting impulsively on and off the track.
Meanwhile, Norris has been unsure of himself while racing the Red Bull driver and also lacked the killer instinct to beat Verstappen psychologically. Nevertheless, the Austin battle has further spiced up the championship battle between Verstappen and Norris.
The #4 driver has lost out points to the reigning champion in Austin, with his 52-point deficit increasing to 57 after the conclusion of the US Grand Prix weekend. With only five race weekends remaining, Norris has made his title challenge a lot more difficult.
