Norris: 'Hopefully Max admits he went too far'
F1 News
Lando Norris hopes Max Verstappen says he "took it a step too far" during their battle in the Mexican Grand Prix. The Dutchman was slapped with two ten-second penalties for two separate moves in the battle with the McLaren driver.
Norris is trying to bridge a (relatively) large gap to Max Verstappen. He saw the Dutchman's lead grow after the United States Grand Prix, but he managed to reduce the gap to 47 points in Mexico. There are four Grands Prix and two sprint races remaining.
Verstappen stormed out of the blocks with seven wins in the opening half of the season, but hasn't won a Grand Prix since June. Since then, Norris and Verstappen have clashed directly on track. There have been three key moments in these battles, the first being in Austria, followed by Austin and now Mexico. Norris reflected on these situations again after the race in Mexico City.
"Austria, no one should have got a penalty. Austin, I don't think anyone should have got a penalty. Let's say we both kind of did things wrong. I feel like I was made to do something wrong. Majority of drivers feel like that was the same thing. That's why you've heard of some of the rule changes that might be coming," Norris explained.
Sunday in Mexico, however, was a different story. "It was another level on both [in Mexico]. I was ahead of Max in the braking zone, past the apex. I avoided crashing. This is the difference. I can't speak for him, and maybe he'll say something different. But I think [Mexico] was a step too far from both of those. And it was clear that the stewards agreed with that. So I don't see it as a win or anything like this. It's more that I hope Max acknowledges that he took it a step too far."
Verstappen was 'aggressive'
According to Norris, it was clear to see how far Verstappen went off the track. "I was ahead of the apex of [turn] 4. I had to avoid him crashing into me. And then 7 was the same thing again. It wasn't that 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. He says he drives to the rules. That was the main thing he said after the last weekend. [In Mexico], he overtook by going forwards off the track. So we'll see. Max will be back next weekend, and I expect just more tough battles," Norris concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen