Lando Norris received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage after his battle with Max Verstappen on lap 52 of the 2024 United States GP – but the debate about whether or not it was a fair penalty, among many others that were dished out during the Austin race – has the team principals of the teams involved at odds over what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Norris tried his luck around the outside of three-time world champion Max Verstappen for several laps in a row, before being predictably ran out of space in turn 12 on lap 52. However the Briton kept his foot in and maintained his position by going off track. The caveat was that Verstappen himself also went off limits, but as the rules favour whoever has a nose ahead at the apex of the corner, Verstappen had the “right” to take the corner, with Norris having to duly back out – which didn’t happen.
As the pole-sitter failed to give the place back to the Dutchman, the stewards handed him a five-second time penalty that dropped him to fourth place by the end of the race.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella didn’t hold back in his words, stating that the stewards exerted an “inappropriate” interference over what was a “beautiful” battle between Norris and Verstappen – but insisted that McLaren, disappointed as they might be, won’t be challenging the FIA’s decision:
“My view is that the way the stewards interfered in this beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate, because both cars went off-track,” he said. “So both cars gained an advantage. It’s a shame because it costs us a podium. It costs us a race where we stay patient. After we were pushed off in the first lap, first corner, we accepted it.
“Having said that, very clearly our position – this kind of decision by the stewards cannot be appealed. For us, the chapter is now closed and we move on to the next race.”
Stella’s biggest concern is that both cars went outside track limits momentarily, which made them believe with “no doubt” that the move from Norris would be valid:
“We double checked that both cars went off track. For us, there was no doubt that the manoeuvre was correct.”
Conversely, on Red Bull’s side, Christian Horner said the rules are very clear in stating that an overtake outside track limits is “illegal”, and reminisced about a penalty for Verstappen at this very circuit in 2017, when the Dutchman swooped past Kimi Raikkonen on the last lap through the esses in the final sector, but crucially outside track limits, and he was famously removed from the cooldown room just before the podium to make way for the Finn:
“Obviously it was hard racing between them. They’ve gone off the circuit there and, you know, Lando [Norris] passed off the circuit. And the rules are very, very clear.
“So, you know, Max [Verstappen] was obviously straight on the radio. The race director was pretty clear. You can see [Norris] goes out of track limits. That’s actually clearly off the circuit.
“We’ve had it the other way around. I think Max versus Kimi [Raikkonen] a few years ago on the last lap and he lost the place. It’s tough when you’re on the receiving end of it.
“And just remember the drivers spend hours and hours talking about these things in the driver’s briefing with the stewards.
“And so they come to a conclusion of the rules that they think are right and applicable. And they all know what they are because they’re all on the radio immediately about track limits, etc., etc.”
Horner pointed out that whilst it is frustrating to see so many penalties dished during the grand prix, and rules that in general aren’t fit for purpose sometimes, the profile of the corner and the general racing it produces lends itself to that kind of issue – but drivers are “acutely” aware of what’s legal and what’s not:
“I think the problem is you’ve got to look at the nature of the corner. You’ve got a 90-degree corner there.
“So unless you change the profile or change where the limit of the circuit is, you’re always going to have this argument about what’s in and what’s out.
“I can understand the frustration, but at the end of the day, the rules are the rules. The drivers know that. They’re driving accordingly.
“And Max was acutely aware that as soon as Lando went over that white line off track and overtook, that’s illegal. And so he was straight on the radio. I think before that, there was some track limits [strikes, for Lando Norris] as well.
“So there was a whole bunch of things going on at that point in time.”
