Lando Norris says he “knew what to anticipate” after being on the receiving finish of “not very clear driving” by Max Verstappen in System 1’s Mexican Grand Prix.
One week after the pair fought laborious in Austin, a duel for which Norris was penalised for overtaking his title rival off observe, Verstappen and Norris once more battled within the early phases of the Mexico Metropolis race.
Norris attacked Verstappen for second place across the exterior of the Flip 4 left-hander, which might yield him the within for the next switchback.
As at Austin, Norris was pushed off by Verstappen, however as a result of this time the McLaren driver was forward on the apex it was Verstappen who was penalised. Utilizing the identical racing tips that had dominated the dialog over the previous week, the stewards handed Verstappen a 10-second penalty.
Verstappen then tried to retaliate at Flip 8 and went off whereas repassing Norris, sending each vehicles vast and forcing Norris to take evasive motion. The stewards handed the Dutchman one other 10-second penalty for leaving the observe and gaining a bonus.
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Norris was vocal on the staff radio about what he felt was “harmful driving” by Verstappen and stated afterwards he wasn’t shocked by his title rival’s strikes.
“I knew what to anticipate. I did not need to count on such a factor as a result of I respect Max rather a lot as a driver, however I used to be able to count on one thing like this,” he stated. “This isn’t very clear driving, for my part, however I averted it, and it was a superb race.
“The primary few laps, a variety of it was simply attempting to remain within the race and keep away from any crashes.”
Max Verstappen, Pink Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photograph by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
McLaren CEO Zak Brown congratulated the stewards for taking motion after the British staff had been vocal about Verstappen’s racing fashion for some time.
“Most likely not sufficient,” he commented about Verstappen’s penalties to Sky Sports activities F1. “I imply, it is getting a bit ridiculous. I applaud the FIA stewards, sufficient’s sufficient. Let’s simply have some good clear racing transferring ahead.
Requested if he was glad with the FIA’s response, he replied: “I feel the stewards are on it. That is clear by the penalties that they assessed. So, I do not suppose we have to do something, simply let the stewards do their job. They did a superb job this weekend.”