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Verstappen snaps at criticism of Norris duel: 'We are not in kindergarten'
Max Verstappen snapped at some of the criticism directed towards him after his battle with championship rival Lando Norris at the United States Grand Prix, saying, "We are not in kindergarten."
Verstappen says duel with Norris is just "racing"
As the race was coming to an end at the Circuit of the Americas, a chasing Norris claimed he was ahead at the apex while looking to make a move on Verstappen. The Dutchman, however, was just ahead, meaning he was allowed to take a much wider line into the corner and force Norris out wide. Verstappen went off the track too, but Norris made the overtake off the track, resulting in a five-second penalty for the Brit, pushing him back behind Verstappen.
Because Verstappen also went off track while defending from Norris, McLaren decided not to let the Briton give back the position he had gained off track, believing that Norris was not in the wrong as both cars deviated from the track. However, the FIA believed that Verstappen defended within the rules, while Norris made a move off the track and gained an advantage, which resulted in his five-second time penalty.
When asked about the way he defended, which is something that Verstappen has previously done, the three-time world champion believed that there was no need for any commotion surrounding his defensive manoeuvres: "I didn't push anyone out," stressed Verstappen. “We didn’t touch. I tried to make the corner. I was on 'full lock'. It’s racing. We’re not in kindergarten.”
Red Bull started the sprint weekend at the Circuit of the Americas strongly, with the upgrades brought to Austin, Texas working well by securing pole position and a win in the sprint race. However, the race was much tougher for the Austrian team, unable to keep up with an extremely quick Ferrari team of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who earned a super 1-2 finish for The Prancing Horse. On mediums, Verstappen was still competitive, but on the hard compound, Norris was clearly faster. Despite this, Verstappen managed to increase his lead in the championship by five points ahead of the McLaren driver.
This article was created in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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