“Slam dunk” Norris penalty was a “black-and-white” case

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has backed the US GP stewards over the penalty given to McLaren’s Lando Norris after his battle with Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen, calling it a “black-and-white” case.

Norris was fighting for the final podium position at the Circuit of the Americas when he made an overtake around the outside at Turn 12, which Verstappen defended robustly and, with both cars leaving the circuit and continuing, the British driver kept hold of the position.

McLaren expected Verstappen to be on the receiving end of an investigation for forcing its driver off-track when defending, much like Mercedes’ George Russell had been earlier in the race in battle with Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber.

However, the stewards instead decided Norris was the one at fault and handed him a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

The Woking-based outfit condemned the decision that reversed placings in the final results and saw Verstappen extend his lead to 57 points in the race for the title, while Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff suggested ‘bias’ in the decision-making.

But Horner has insisted the call was the correct one, explaining: “The racing between the two of them was competitive and great to watch and obviously, all the drivers know acutely what the rules are.

“They discuss these issues and particular corners in the briefings with the various stewards and driver stewards and race directors.

“The pass was made off-track. We’ve been on the receiving end of that, in fact here, I think against Kimi, 2018. So for us, it was crystal clear that the pass had been made off the track, so he should have given the place back. He chose not to so therefore there was a penalty. So for us, it was very much a black-and-white scenario.”

On the perceived inconsistency of stewarding across the weekend, in particular, with Russell and Yuki Tsunoda both penalised when on the inside of the corner for pushing rivals wide, Horner replied: “I think it’s very difficult for the stewards and every incident is different, so you have to look at every incident individually.

“When you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s not nice. As I say, we’ve been on the receiving end of it numerous times, not just at this track, but at other tracks. So they all know what’s at stake.

“What I perhaps…