The hunter or hunted argument that could be key to McLaren’s right of review push

McLaren’s petition to seek a right of review over Lando Norris’s penalty for overtaking Max Verstappen off track in Austin shows it remains deeply unhappy over what happened last weekend.

And while few would argue against the fact that overtaking off track is not allowed in Formula 1, a deeper understanding of what played out at Turn 12 has opened up a much more complex scenario where the arguments over the incident now run much deeper.

While the focus of the debate in recent days has been on what F1’s Driving Standards Guidelines do and do not allow when it comes to attacking and defending, there is perhaps a fresh element of the Norris/Verstappen incident that has moved into the spotlight.

This concerns what Verstappen and Norris were duty bound by the regulations to do, which of them was attacking and which of them was defending.

It is this interpretation that alone can change perceptions of the incidents and decide who was right and who was wrong. After all, if Norris was officially ahead before the braking zone, then how can he have overtaken off track? He would have been simply holding on to his position after being forced wide by an attacker down the inside.

The original stewards’ verdict in Austin was clear that it did not see things that way, as it felt Norris “was overtaking Car 1 on the outside, but was not level with Car 1 at the apex.”

This meant that, having not been where he needed to be as the cars turned through the corner, Norris had lost the right to be given room on the exit.

So, by being behind him as they went into the corner, then it was obvious it would be a rules breach to overtake him after running wide.

But it was interesting to hear Norris suggest on Thursday in Mexico that the situation is not as clear as that, and that in his view it was actually Verstappen doing the overtaking.

“I was completely ahead of Max,” he said. “I was over a car length ahead of him so I was no longer the attacking car. He was.

“I was ahead of Max, I was having to defend, he was the one attacking me and effectively he has gone in too hard and overtaken off the track.

“I just maintained my position so it is something I am sure we will discuss, as it has been a big talking point since last weekend.”

New video released

The viewpoint of Norris being ahead has most likely crystallised…