The United States Grand Prix stewards issued a controversial decision which had consequences for championship contenders Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Norris overtook Verstappen on the outside of turn 12 but both drivers went off the track while doing so. The stewards ruled Norris had gained an advantage by leaving the track and handed him a five-second time penalty which cost him his place to Verstappen.
Did they make the right call?
How it happened
Norris had made several attempts to overtake Verstappen at turn 12 before the incident occured. The McLaren driver got closer to the Red Bull approaching the corner on lap 52 and Verstappen moved to block the inside line.
As they began to slow for the corner, Norris was initially ahead on the outside. Verstappen gained on him as they approached the apex. They turned in and as they reached the outside of the corner both drivers left the circuit, Norris unable to turn in any tighter because of the Red Bull on his inside.
When both rejoined the circuit Norris was ahead of Verstappen, where he remained.
What they said
In the cars
Verstappen immediately said Norris “overtook me outside the track,” adding: “He needs to give it back.”
Norris asked McLaren to verify whether he had been ahead at the apex of the corner, which under F1’s driving guidelines would mean he was entitled to be given room. “I think I was ahead at the apex,” he said. “Let me know if you think otherwise.”
“We think you were ahead at apex,” replied his race engineer Will Joseph.
Norris added: “He also went off, so it was clear.”
After the race
Norris restated his position after the race, by which time he knew of his penalty. “He also went off the track,” he told Sky. “So, if he goes off the track, clearly he’s gone in way too hard and also get into an advantage by doing what he did.”
Verstappen insisted Norris was at fault by retaining the position he had taken. “It’s quite clear in the ruling, you can’t overtake outside the white line,” he said. “There’s not more to say. It’s painful but up until then we had a really good battle.”
The official verdict
The stewards awarded Norris a five second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.
“[Norris] was overtaking [Verstappen] on the outside, but was not level with [Verstappen] at the apex,” they explained. “Therefore under the Driving Standards Guidelines,…
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