2 weeks Ago By Jamie Woodhouse
Max Verstappen insists he was not looking for any “shortcut” against Lando Norris in their fierce United States GP battles. The title protagonists were involved in two feisty scraps, first at Turn 1 as Verstappen launched up the inside of polesitter Norris as both drivers went wide, clearing the way for Charles Leclerc to swoop into the lead, and again in the latter stages at Turn 12, as Norris’ attempt to go around the outside resulted in both drivers going into the run-off. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock The stewards did not act on the Turn 1 incident, but did give Norris a five-second penalty for what happened at Turn 12, as while Verstappen ushered himself and his title rival off, Norris was judged to have left the track and gained an advantage as he re-joined the circuit ahead of Verstappen rather than giving the place back.
It meant that the final podium position ultimately returned to Verstappen, who stretched his Drivers’ Championship lead over Norris to 57 points. And when speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Mexican GP, it was put to Verstappen that critics had said he did not intend on making the corner, but rather just needed to be ahead at the apex to cover himself under the regulations.
2009 World Champion Jenson Button had put it to Red Bull boss Christian Horner in Austin that they have a driver who is “very good at understanding the regulations” in Verstappen. “It’s quite impressive that people can read my mind,” Verstappen quipped in response to the criticism he has faced. “It’s crazy.
“I mean, I always try to make the corner. I didn’t want to look for a shortcut. So, I don’t even know what to answer to this.
” 👉 The ultimate F1 2024 title calculator: Are Lando Norris first World Championship hopes over? 👉 F1 2024 power rankings: New Sergio Perez low as Leclerc, Sainz makes big Austin gains Verstappen said that he “of course” has the racing rulebook in this mind when it comes to situations like those against Norris in Austin, though it is becoming an increasingly detailed one to remember. “I think we are getting to a stage where I always need the book in the car,” he continued. “That’s how it is.
I mean, I think, if you look, of course, over the years, the book has grown quite a lot. More and more rules.” That being said, Verstappen said there is a balance to be struck, as too many alterations to the regulations will lead to complaints from the other side of the fence.
“It is definitely overregulated,” he said, “but then I also can see the other point of, if we take rules away, and then there’s, again, an incident, like, ‘Ah we need more rules. We need to be stronger on this’. “It’s always the same thing, you know, because in the past, we had maybe some lesser rules, and then you have the same argument, you know, we need to be strong on this or that.
It’s always the same story.” Five rounds remain in F1 2024 as Verstappen looks to see off the Norris charge and win his fourth consecutive Drivers’ title. And F1 this weekend descends on a happy hunting ground for Verstappen in the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with Verstappen having won five of the last six Mexican GPs.
Read next: Jenson Button calls for FIA rule change after Verstappen v Norris COTA controversy.
