As the drivers prepare for the second Grand Prix in of the triple header, the questions keep circling back around to the controversy following last weekend’s US Grand Prix, where Lando Norris was denied a podium in favour of Max Verstappen, after overtaking the Dutchman off-track. The young Briton however still disagrees with his five-second time penalty, as he feels he was no longer the attacker, but rather the defender. He thinks Verstappen should have been investigated for forcing another driver off the track, comparing it to the incident between George Russell and Valtteri Bottas earlier in the race, which yielded a penalty for the Mercedes driver.
“I’ve not spoken to Max at all because he did what he thought was right and I did what I thought was right. I still disagree and as a team we disagree,” Norris started his argument.
“I think what we saw with George’s and Bottas’s version in some ways was very similar to ours: I was completely ahead of Max, I was over a car length ahead of him. 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.
He adds: “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. A lot of other drivers didn’t agree with it, teams didn’t agree with it.
“I think the point is that he only stayed ahead of me at the apex because he went off the track, he would not have been ahead at the apex if he braked where he should’ve braked and stayed on the track. I think that is obvious.”
One of the arguments heard was that Norris should hav simply given the place back and tried again a lap or so later, given that there were five more laps to run after the incident. But the McLaren driver dismissed the argument, as it is not certain he would have had another opportunity.
“It is too easy for people to say this [give the place back],” he rebutted. “My tyres were getting hotter and hotter and getting away from me more and more. My pace difference to Max was decreasing, so if I let him back past there might not have been a chance to get past him again.
“I am always just trying to do what I think is best at the time and within the rules which I believe to be correct. Sometimes it is difficult, hence why I asked the team ‘what do you guys think?’. Ideally the stewards would say ‘we don’t think this is right, give the position back,’ that would be a much more simple thing to do, but that’s not how it works.
“I believed I was in the right, and I asked the team for confirmation and they believed we were in the right. Therefore I’ve continued. I think we are doing a good job as a team; I think our approach is correct, but sometimes you don’t come up on top.”
Verstappen was clearly on a mission not to lose, using every trick in the book and then some. But Norris admitted he liked the duel they and acknowledged he needs to up the ante if he wants to beat the reigning World Champion.
“We saw Max didn’t care if he won or was second or third, his only job was to beat me and he did that – so he did a good job from that side.
“I had a lot of fun and I respected the battle that we had. He still ended up on top and I need to be beating him. So some little things I need to change but I don’t need to change my whole approach.
“It is not as easy as just saying [I need to be more aggressive],” Norris explained. “Do I need to make some changes? Yes. And adapt a little bit more. But is everything I am doing wrong? Also no,”
“I am still staying clear and avoiding collisions which a lot of things that we have done could have been or turned into worse things like bigger crashes. I avoid them and therefore races could’ve ended earlier than they have.
“Getting caught up in collisions like Turn 1 or Turn 12 could’ve easily been that he’s in a much more powerful position than I’m in, so it’s up to me and the team to try to overcome that.”
While acknowledging the skills of the Red Bull driver, Norris also feels he isn’t doing a bad job, and that the racing should not be overregulated, despite him not agreeing with the penalty.
“Max is probably the best in the world at what he does,” he praises Verstappen. “When I am going up against the best in the world it is not going to be an easy thing to do.
“He has been racing in this position for longer than I have. I am definitely not doing a perfect job, but I’m not doing a bad job.
“I think there are certain things I don’t agree with but I still want to be racing, I don’t want there to be rules for absolutely everything.
“I just believed the way I got a penalty last weekend and the consequences of how that happened I didn’t agree with, and that’s the only thing that needs to be changed. It is clear what his intentions are and it is difficult for me to get around.”
