Why Norris was penalised – and what F1’s Driver Guidelines really say

Lando Norris’s penalty for overtaking Max Verstappen off track in the United States Grand Prix has triggered another controversy about Formula 1’s policing of driving standards.

Amid an intense fight between the McLaren driver and his Red Bull rival for third place, the incident between the pair at Turn 12 on lap 52 has divided opinions and once again left fans confused about what is and is not allowed.

Looking at the reasons behind the decision, Norris’ punishment was for overtaking Verstappen for third while he was off the track. In official terms, this falls under the remit of leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

This is because, in the judgement of the stewards, Norris had not earned the right to the corner – so going off track was entirely of his own making.

In the official stewards’ statement outlining the reasons for the decision, they say that Norris had not fulfilled certain requirements in the guidelines that stewards use.

The stewards said: “Car 4 [Norris] was overtaking Car 1 [Verstappen] on the outside, but was not level with Car 1 at the apex.

“Therefore, under the Driving Standards Guidelines, Car 4 had lost the “right” to the corner.  Accordingly, as Car 4 left the track and returned in front of Car 1, it is deemed to be a case of leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.”

And while Verstappen left the track himself in his defensive actions against Norris, the stewards did not think that made what Norris did acceptable.

However, they did conclude that Norris had a justifiable reason to be off circuit, because Verstappen had run wide himself, so that is why he was handed a lesser penalty than normal and was not given a strike for breaching track limits, which would have been his fourth offence and earned him a sanction.

The stewards added: “A five-second penalty is imposed instead of the 10-second penalty recommended in the guidelines because having committed to the overtaking move on the outside the driver of Car 4 had little alternative other than to leave the track because of the proximity of Car 1 which had also left the track.  In view of the above, we determine that this will not count as a track limit “strike” for Car 4.”

What the Driving Standards Guidelines say

The explanation of the stewards makes reference to the Driving…