Norris looks himself in the mirror: 'If I wouldn't drive like a muppet...'

After his initial thoughts on the matter, Norris talked in detail about the incident in Austin. "They (the rules) 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 gained an advantage. So I think there's, again, inconsistency," the Briton said.

He continued with further explaining why he believes the stewards should have waited, even as they were rushed given the Grand Prix was at its closing stage. "They (the stewards) don't hear my point of discussion, or my team's point, or Max's point, which I don't think is maybe the most correct thing."

About his battle with his rival, Norris shared how hard it is to battle against a driver like Verstappen. "He had a lot of commitment to keep me behind. The thing is, with Max, you've got to commit. People don't understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can't just go half-hearted."

"I think Max drove very well. I think it's very hard to do what we're doing, and it's hard when you're side by side, you're completely on the side of the track to guess where your braking marker is, you're going quicker than you have before because you use the battery, the tyres are older, there's different bumps, there's a lot of dirt. It was enjoyable. I think it was respectful."

The Turn 1 incident

Not only at the end of the Grand Prix, but also during the start the rivals locked horns at the Circuit of the Americas. After Norris had a good getaway, he left enough room on the inside, something Verstappen took advantage of. As a result, Leclerc could also overtake the Dutchman, but Norris lost a place to his former teammate, Carlos Sainz as well.

"Turn 1 is a bit harder to say, whether it was because I didn't commit enough, but the fact that he committed so much speed in that he again went off the track. I mean, I can't just dive up the inside of someone, run off, and then keep the position, a normal running. But for some reason, it's completely okay on Lap 1, Turn 1."

He later added: "I think Turn 1, I didn't do the correct thing, but I feel like what happened at the end of the race was more on my side... We just didn't come out on top because I didn't do a good enough job."

"If I defended better in Turn 1 and wasn't driving like a muppet [there wouldn't be a conversation]. I should have led after turn one and shouldn't be having this conversation in the first place."

Will Norris and McLaren appeal?

Norris underlines that a formal request is unlikely as far as he knows. "I don't think you can appeal this kind of penalty, which is, again, a silly thing, because they're just guessing, and I don't think that's how stewarding should be done. But it's a difficult job for them to do. So I'm not complaining against them. I think it's just more the fact they don't see everything, understand everything as well as we do when we're inside the car. That's it."

'Momentum killer for the championship'

As a result, with five Grands Prix left on the calendar, Norris now trails Verstappen by 57 points. "It's a momentum killer. But 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. Even if I came around Turn 1 in first, I would never have finished first or second and only could have finished third."

"But one guy I need to beat is Max, and that's the guy I didn't beat today, so it was a non-successful 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've worked to do on myself," he concluded.

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