AUSTIN — Lando Norris arrived in Austin for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix as, in many ways, the center of attention. Not only does the British driver command a huge presence around the world thanks to his popularity, but his pursuit of Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship — as well as McLaren’s position atop the Constructors’ Championship — remains one of the major storylines as the 2024 F1 season draws to a close.
Norris began the day in prime position to cut further into Verstappen’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship, but his dreams of inching closer to his rival came to an end in the closing laps of Sunday’s Grand Prix. As the two were battling over the final laps, with Verstappen in P3 ahead of Norris, the McLaren drivers tried to overtake Verstappen on an outside line, and the two drifted off the track.
Norris rejoined the racing line in third ahead of Verstappen, but the matter was immediately referred to race stewards for further investigation. Within minutes a five-second penalty was handed down to Norris, and despite crossing the finish line ahead of Verstappen, the gap was not enough to avoid dropping Norris to P4.
Following the race Norris spoke to the media, including SB Nation, and addressed the fight with Verstappen as well as the penalty.
“No, not really,” began Norris when he was asked if he understood the penalty.
“It’s, it’s tough. There’s different alterations of things. It’s a tough job to do, to steward these kind of things,” continued Norris.
“For me, whatever I did, I did. For me, the point that is incorrect is what Max did, which is also defend his position by going off the track and what in effect he would be keeping his position, which is not correct,” added Norris. “He went off the track while defending and he’s over-defended and made a mistake and therefore he’s gained from that.
“At the same time because of that, I’ve had to go off the track.”
Norris also highlighted what he termed some inconsistency with how these decisions have been handled this season.
“But, those are the rules. They seem to change because I feel like it’s quite inconsistent from, say what happened in Austria where Max didn’t get a penalty and went off the track [and] gained an advantage,” added Norris. “So I think there’s again inconsistency, but it’s tough.”
Norris also brought up the idea that race stewards should perhaps wait to rule on such penalties until they have heard from both of the involved drivers.
“For me, it’s just a rushed decision and they don’t hear or understand our points, which they should do after the race, they just wanna make a decision at the time,” said Norris. “So they don’t alter points and podiums and things like that. “But therefore it’s a rushed decision and they don’t hear my point of a discussion or my team’s point or Max’s point, which I don’t think is maybe the most correct thing.
“But, today it was a penalty, and not a lot I can do apart from just, accept that.”
Still, Norris praised his rival in the Drivers’ Championship, describing their fight on the track as a “great battle,” and one that he enjoyed partaking in.
“I tried, we both tried. It was a great battle. I really enjoyed it,” added Norris. “It was tough. Max drove very well and defended very well, but he ended up on top.”
The McLaren driver also made it clear that when racing Verstappen, you cannot be “half-hearted” in your effort.
“The thing is with Max you’ve got to commit, but people don’t understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can’t just go half-hearted.
“I think Max drove very well. It’s very hard to do what we’re doing.
“I respect the battle that we had. It was a good one, it was enjoyable, I think it was respectful.
As Norris’ comments drew to a close, he reflected on the overall championship picture, in particular Ferrari’s front-row lockout.
“We came in here with our mind open, not expecting to dominate or just win or anything. So, the fact that Ferrari was so quick today showed they’re just as competitive,” added Norris. “Even if I came around Turn 1 in first I would have never have finished first or second and could only have finished third.
“But the one car I need to beat is Max and that’s one car I didn’t beat today.
“So it was an unsuccessful weekend, all in all. But we gave it a good shot. I tried. It wasn’t good enough, and we have work to do, and I have work to do on myself.”
With that, Norris was off, headed to Mexico City for next weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
Now trailing Verstappen by 57 points in the Drivers’ Championship standings, and with a little bit more work to do to catch him.
