Lando Norris believes his championship rival Max Verstappen knows he went too far with his defensive moves during yesterday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Verstappen was penalised twice for a pair of incidents with Norris on lap 10 of the race. Norris said his rival’s tactics showed he is not trying to win races, but delay him as much as possible.“I go into every race expecting a tough battle with Max,” said Norris, who cut his rival’s championship lead to 47 points yesterday. “It’s clear that it doesn’t matter if he wins or second, his only job is to beat me in the race, and he’ll sacrifice himself to do that, like he did today.”
Norris said his rival’s driving yesterday went beyond hard racing and his two 10-second time penalties were justified. “I want to have good battles with him,” he said. “I want to have those tough battles, like I’ve seen him have plenty of times. But fair ones.
“It’s always going to be on the line. It’s always going to be tough with Max. He’s never going to make anyone’s life easy, especially mine at this point of the year. But I think today was just… It was not fair, clean racing. And therefore, I think he got what he had coming to him.”
Verstappen responded to Norris’ attempt to pass him around the outside of turn four by forcing him off the track. At turn seven he lunged up the inside of the McLaren, pushing both of them off the track in a 155kph corner with little run-off. Both drivers lost a position to Charles Leclerc at that point, which it took Norris until the end of the race to recover.
Norris said Verstappen’s moves forced him to take evasive action. “Today I felt like I just had to avoid collisions and that’s not what you feel like you want to do in a race,” he said.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“He’s in a very powerful position in the championship. He’s a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose. People can say it’s the other way around, like he’s got everything to lose and it’s all for me. But it’s not the case.”
It was the second race in a row where the pair have clashed controversially. In Austin Norris received a five-second time penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track, as the Red Bull driver also left the circuit as he tried to keep his rival behind.
Norris said the fight between the pair in Mexico “was another level in both of those cases.”
“I was ahead of Max in the braking zone, past the apex. I am avoiding crashing today. This is the difference.
“I can’t speak for him, and maybe he’ll say something different. But I think today was a step too far from both of those, and it was clear that the stewards agreed with that.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“So I don’t see it as a win or anything like this, but it’s more that I hope Max acknowledges that he took it a step too far.”
Verstappen responded to criticism of his defensive driving in Austin by insisting he obeys the rules. However Norris pointed out that wasn’t the case when Verstappen re-passed at turn seven following the incident at turn four.
“I didn’t need to let Max through,” he said. “I was ahead at the apex of four, I had to avoid him crashing into me.
“Then [turn] seven was the same thing again. The thing is, what I didn’t understand, like what didn’t come earlier, was he overtook off the track.
“It was also overly aggressive and those types of things, but he overtook off the track. I don’t know what the wording of the penalties are and those types of things, but he says he drives to the rules. That was his main thing he said after last weekend, and today he overtook by going forwards off the track.
“We’ll see. Max will be back next weekend and I expect just more tough battles.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2024 Mexican Grand Prix
- McLaren have no regrets over pitting Norris shortly before red flag came out
- Leclerc fined, avoids same penalty as Verstappen after apologising for swearing
- Leclerc not in the clear over swearing as Verstappen claims he went unpunished
- Majority of drivers wanted racing rules to change “straight away” – Russell
- Verstappen was “over the limit” with Norris but others would do same – Leclerc
Jere (@jerejj)
28th October 2024, 11:18
He couldn’t be more spot-on. Unfortunately, I’m already prepared for similar actions at the Interlagos T4, as well as LV T1, & so on…
Simon
28th October 2024, 17:23
Prepared for… when they don’t happen, like another of your “predictions” for Mexico City?
David (@nvherman)
28th October 2024, 18:56
Just cease. You add no value to these comment sections, and sadly there’s no block function.
PeteB (@peteb)
28th October 2024, 20:12
Of course, maybe he could consider qualifying ahead of him and when he does, holding the lead at turn 1….? Not much Max can do then.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
28th October 2024, 11:21
Nobody got hurt, Max doesn’t have to explain himself in front of the cameras, and hopefully the FIA will finally sort this ‘running people off the track business’ out. Hopefully everything cools off and Max and co get a good run of form at the end of the season, to round off the weird edges.
Doh
28th October 2024, 11:52
Usually everything evens out over a season so that means a no finish for max is coming, of his own doing.
Tristan
28th October 2024, 18:19
Actually does, they all have media contracts with F1
Lee1
28th October 2024, 21:01
I am sorry. Are you saying that if. I one gets hurt then whatever they do is fine?
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
28th October 2024, 11:51
The “evolution” of VER:
Once known as Crash-happens.
Drivers learned to move out of way.
Gifted 2021 for the show.
2 years in a dominant car which kept everyone safe.
Back to drivers knowing to move out of way.
Osnola
28th October 2024, 15:46
And stiil he lives rent free in your head :)
sam
28th October 2024, 16:32
You can make excuses all you want. Max is in the headlines because because he is a dirty driver.
That must live in your head.
Tristan
28th October 2024, 18:17
This is the dumbest insult made worse by people saying it in the wrong situation. We follow F1 ofcourse the leader of the championship lives rent free in our head. It’s not as if he’s there not by choice.
Lee1
28th October 2024, 21:03
Are you Jos?
“He has a bad car so is entitled.to do what he wants…”
Osnola
29th October 2024, 9:41
You can comment on his driving style but deniying the fact he is one of the best drivers in the field by far, time and time again(as is his stance here) is a bit strange to say the least.
So yes, he obviously us living rent free in that empty space :)
Edvaldo
28th October 2024, 12:16
Max will do a Schumacher Jerez-97 easily if necessary. And obviously, a time penalty might not be enough when he’s driving one of the fastest cars.
Schumacher was excluded from the 1997 standings, but he lost that championship anyway. I would like to know if they would have the guts to exclude someone who actually won the WDC by causing a collision now.
Michael
28th October 2024, 13:02
No action was taken after Adelaide 1994
AlanD
28th October 2024, 13:39
No action was taken in 94 because MS had the flimsy excuse that he had lost control of the car. I didn’t agree with it at the time, but I also think it might be that the stewards felt the worst they could do would be to exclude him from that race, which would have made no difference anyway. But 97 didn’t really have any excuse. Please remember too that what happened thirty years ago does not, and should not, determine what stewards do in 2024.
MichaelN
28th October 2024, 17:12
All this talk of ‘precedence’ has confused people. The stewards themselves are guilty of this, too. It is an attempt to bring English common law thinking – i.e. precedence reigns supreme – into a system that has no place nor need for it.
AlanD
28th October 2024, 19:01
Agree with that. Precedent is useful when you have a representative case which carefully considers all the arguments and makes a very clear and correct decision. But a contentious decision by race stewards in a previous race for a vaguely similar incident should not be regarded as setting a precedent.
Davethechicken
28th October 2024, 19:28
I think yesterdays race penalties was an acknowledgement that they got it wrong in Austin.
Mayrton
29th October 2024, 12:19
Turn 4 incident is a bit 50-50. Both were at the apex roughly about the same time. So let’s give Lando the benefit of the doubt and say he was ahead. Max kept all 4 on track but squeezed Lando off. 5 sec penalty. Not 10 and definitely no penalty points. Should Max have been at the apex first, then it doesn’t make sense at all and Norris should get 5 sec.
Next is turn 7. Clearly a 10 sec penalty for Max for dive bombing. It was wrong.
The thing is, when you start penalising incidents like at turn 4 you are making racing become very dull. It wasn’t a very clear cut case like in Austin or turn 7 Mexico. It was marginally ahead of behind at the apex. You can not penalise marginally with 10sec and penalty points. If you do chose to do that you are showing your biased hand to a degree we haven’t seen before. It is time we get rid of some very biased stewards that are causing damage to the sport.
gDog
29th October 2024, 23:59
He didn’t.
Mayrton
30th October 2024, 7:43
You are right, it should say ‘kept at least one wheel on the track at all times’.
gDog
30th October 2024, 21:04
Aplogies, you’re right there too. He did keep two wheels on. I must’ve been confusing it with T1 Austin.