Yahoo Autos Max Verstappen Improves F1 Title Chances with Controversial Podium at COTA
Formula 1’s title rivals scrapped for the final podium position at Circuit of the Americas at Austin, Texas on Sunday and that final spot on the podium was ultimately dictated by gray areas in the rules and a stewarding call.
Lando Norris reeled in third-place Max Verstappen across the second stint of the race, and expectedly encountered a robust defense from Verstappen, who placed his car perfectly for multiple laps to keep the McLaren at bay.
But on Lap 52, Norris had the momentum and grabbed the outside line for Turn 12, only for Verstappen to keep his car on the inside, forcing both off-track.
Norris emerged ahead, and stewards decided that he had gained an unfair advantage, issuing a five-second time penalty. Norris crossed the line in third but dropped behind Verstappen to fourth in the final order.
“For me, whatever I did, I did,” Norris said. “For me the point that is incorrect is what Max did, which is defend his position by going off the track, and would effectively be keeping his position, which is not correct. He went off the track by defending, and has overdefended and made a mistake, and therefore has gained from that. At the same time, because of that, I’ve had to go off the track.”
Verstappen was unsurprisingly of the opposite viewpoint.
“I think it’s quite clear you can’t overtake outside the white line,” Verstappen said. “I got done for it also here in I think 2017, or whatever it was. I lost my podium like that. I just remained calm and tried to do the best I could to bring the car to the end because it was not easy with the situation I was in.”
On the notion that he too ran wide in the incident Verstappen quipped that “they [McLaren] complain about a lot lately anyway. But it’s very clear in the rules, outside the line you can’t pass.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was irritated by the stewards’ intervention and consequent swift decision, having settled on a penalty within minutes of the incident.
Stewards determined that Norris was not ahead at the apex, meaning he did not have the ‘right’ to the corner, but part of that was due to Verstappen’s speed on the inside.
“I think the defending car goes just straight at the apex,” said Stella. “We checked the video multiple times. It's just going straight, it's just going off track as much as Lando is doing, just giving no chance for Lando to complete the manoeuver. How many times Max has used this way for defending, both cars go off track? So I think both cars are gaining an advantage if there's an advantage gained. So for us this maneuver was at the least neutral, but when I saw that there was another investigation, I was pretty sure that was because Max pushed Lando off the track.
“I am surprised that the stewards didn't even feel the need to discuss with the drivers after the race. It is an uncertain situation. Get the opinion of the drivers, get the time to assess the situation with the level of details that is required when the situation is not so clear. So where is the urgency to interfere with the result of a race with a championship course just because you have to make the decision in 60 seconds? It's a question mark that I think the stewards should take constructively, positively. Is it really needed to make a decision so quickly and, in our opinion, so wrongly?”
Norris nevertheless lauded Verstappen for a “great battle” and conceded that being overhauled by his rival into Turn 1 on the opening lap also left him vulnerable.
“Look, if I defended better in Turn 1 and wasn’t driving like a muppet… I should have led after Turn 1, and we shouldn’t have had this conversation in the first place,” Norris said on the late penalty.
The outcome means Verstappen leads Norris by 57 points in the F1 Drivers' Championship Standings with five races remaining, having gained five points on the McLaren driver through the course of the weekend. Verstappen hasn’t won a Grand Prix in nine events but still remains firm favorite for a fourth crown.
