Marko bemused with Norris: "He should know about Verstappen"
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- Nicole Mulder
Helmut Marko believes that Lando Norris "should know" what will come from battling against Max Verstappen instead of catching him off guard. The United States Grand Prix saw yet another battle play out between the two title protagonists at the Circuit of The Americas, with this one by the Dutchman, forcing Norris to make a move off the track, resulting in a five-second penalty for the Britsh driver that saw him drop behind Verstappen come the race's end.
As the Grand Prix entered its final stages, Norris was chasing Verstappen on fresher tyres, looking to overtake the Red Bull driver to close the gap in the drivers' championship once more after Verstappen increased the lead after taking sprint race victory a day earlier.
As the McLaren driver closed the gap, he looked for a way through, but the defence of Verstappen was superb, placing his car perfectly to not even give Norris a chance of making a move down the back straight. However, Norris finally looked like he was able to make a move, but as we have seen many times before the Dutchman, he was able to get to the apex of the corner ahead, meaning he was able to guide Norris out wide and off the track while he stayed on track. It resulted in Norris overtaking off the track, and as he didn't give that position back, he was given the five-second penalty which caused him to drop behind Verstappen.
Marko: 'Every opponent of Verstappen knows that'
It is not the first time that Verstappen has defended by using that technique, and Marko was extremely surprised that Norris allowed the three-time world champion to do that: "Max defended with everything he had. For any opponent of Max, it is clear that he is not a novice. He is one of the most controlled, but also one of the hardest racers. Lando Norris should know that. Moreover, Norris has also been off the track several times," said the Austrian advisor in conversation with Speedweek.com.
"You are not allowed to overtake off track, so his [Norris'] punishment was justified," the 81-year-old Austrian argues, agreeing with the decision made by the FIA.
Thanks to his strong defence during the United States Grand Prix, as well as his sprint victory, Verstappen extended his lead in the drivers' championship by five points, with the reigning world champion now leading by a 57-point gap to his main rival with just five races to go, with the Mexican Grand Prix coming up next.
This article was created in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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