As Lando Norris spent lap after lap trying to prise third place from Max Verstappen’s hands, surely everyone knew what was coming.
On lap 52, Norris finally nosed ahead in the DRS zone approaching turn 12. This was crucial, for everyone knows that under F1’s driving standards guidelines, if a driver is overtaking on the outside and gets ahead at the apex, their rival on the inside must leave them room.
This didn’t happen. Verstappen not only failed to leave room for Norris, he didn’t have enough room for himself, straying beyond the track limits at the corner exit.
Both motored on, Norris now ahead. McLaren, believing he had won the corner and was entitled to the position, told him he did not need to relinquish the place.
Red Bull argued Norris had overtaken their driver outside the track. The stewards agreed with them, handing Norris a five-second time penalty which cost him a podium place and, crucially, a six-point swing in the championship.
The stewards’ decision showed McLaren correctly identified the key issue at stake: Whether Norris had been ahead at the apex. However they ruled Norris “was not level with car one [Verstappen] at the apex.”
The footage of the incident corroborates this. Verstappen, despite being on the inside and therefore facing a tighter line, arrives at the corner at a higher speed than Norris. That puts him on a line which carries him beyond the limits of the track.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Norris arrived at a slower speed and had more room to make the corner. Whether he, like Verstappen, had over-committed and wasn’t going to make the turn is something only F1 drivers, not mere mortals like us, can know. But his line and speed indicate he was capable of making the corner and from the footage it appears the only reason he couldn’t get around it was the RB20 sliding off-track alongside him.
McLaren dropped the ball when they failed to correctly answer Norris’ question about where he had been ahead at the apex.
“We think you were ahead at apex,” said Joseph at first. He later began a response: “Our opinion is, you were ahead at apex, both cars went off track…” after which Norris talked over him. “Yeah, he also went off, so… It was clear,” said the driver.
McLaren’s thinking about the facts of the situation became clouded by their unhappiness at Verstappen going off the track to defend his position,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…