The McLaren and Red Bull pair has once again reflected on the happening in F1 Mexico P after another coming together of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Red Bull’s Verstappen had an aggressive start to lead F1 Mexico GP until after the safety car when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz surprised him with a move taking the inside line at Turn 1 to lead the grand prix. The Dutchman couldn’t chase him and instead focused on defence game.
He had McLaren’s Norris hustling him and he eventually tried a move on the outside at Turn 4. He was side-by-side and seemingly pushed off by Verstappen. The Dutchman tried a bold move at Turn 7 then which meant both were off but the Red Bull driver was crucially ahead.
Norris did not wish to risk a collision and stayed back as the stewards handed two separate 10s penalties to Verstappen which he served in his stop and dropped to 15th. He eventually climbed back up to sixth but that was it, while the Brit managed to catch Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
He eventually finished second to cut the points lead by 10 points to 47 with four races and two sprint events to go. Post-race, Norris noted that he expected such work from Verstappen. It was hard racing, yes, but this time he felt it wasn’t fair from the Dutchman, especially at Turn 7.
He hopes that Verstappen at least acknowledges that thing if nothing more. The Dutchman, meanwhile, played down the moves and was more worried about his overall pace. He joked about serving the 20s penalty and maybe adding more penalty time the next time, indicating that he is not going to change.
McLaren’s Andrea Stella welcomed the stewards’ decision but he distanced himself from understanding that Verstappen’s Turn 7 move was in retaliation to what happened in Turn 4. He noted of assuring Norris about not putting himself down all the time and that he is driving fair and well.
At the same time, Red Bull’s Christian Horner brought along a GPS sheet to showcase how Norris drove in the lap when he overtook Verstappen and the lap he set his fastest lap time on. The Brit was more worried about how drivers will perceive the decisions and misuse the guidelines.
What happened –
Verstappen: “You know, honestly, 20 seconds is a lot, but I’m not going to cry about it and I’m also not going to share my opinion. The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace. That was quite clear again on the mediums and on the hard tyres. I just felt that the Turn 4 [penalty] was a bit more of, like, a question mark. Turn 7 is what it is. Honestly, those two things are also not my problem. The problem is that we are too slow, and that’s why I’m being put in those kind of positions. That is my problem.”
Norris: “I don’t think I need to say much. Yeah, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory on what happened. You know, I did everything I’ve been told in terms of what the rules are and the guidelines and all of this stuff, yet it just wasn’t to be. And, of course, he got some penalties for that. But, you know, I think… I always, like I said before in some of the interviews, I go into every race expecting a tough battle with Max. It’s clear that it doesn’t matter if he wins or second, his only job is to beat me in the race. And he’ll sacrifice himself to do that, like he did today.
“But I want to have good battles with him. I want to have those tough battles, like I’ve seen him have plenty of times. But fair ones. It’s always going to be on the line. It’s always going to be tough with Max. He’s never going to make anyone’s life easy, especially mine at this point of the year. But I think today was just… It was not fair, clean racing. And therefore, I think he got what he had coming to him. Was he harsher than Austin? Probably, yes.”
Horner: “First of all, yes, I think it was very harsh to give two 10-second penalties. I think there’s something more fundamental; I mean, obviously there’s been a reaction to Austin. I think it’s very important for the drivers’ stewards and the drivers to sit down. Because [looking at] the GPS, this is on the run down to Turn 4. This is actually Lando versus Lando. In Lando’s fastest lap of the Grand Prix, the point that he’s braking for Turn 4 and then obviously executing the corner. On the lap that he has the incident with Max — he is 15 kilometres an hour faster and later on the brakes than his fastest lap of the grand prix. He wouldn’t have made the corner, he would have run off track. You can see from his onboard steering. Of course, at this point in the race, he’s got probably 80kg more fuel than at the point that he’s done his fastest lap.
“I think we are in danger of…it used to be a reward of the bravest to go around the outside. I think we’re in danger of flipping the overtaking laws upside down, where drivers will just try to get their nose ahead at the at the apex, and then claim that they have to be given room on the exit. You can see quite clearly, he’s effectively come off the brakes, gone in super-super late to try and win that argument, as far as the way these regulations are written, and then at that point, you’re penalised. Every indoor karting circuit around the world, if you’ve got the inside line you control the corner. It’s one of the principles in the physics of racing. I think that they just need to get back to the basics that if you’re on the outside, you don’t have priority.
“Otherwise we will end up with a mess over these last four races. So I think it’s really important that the driver stewards together with the drivers agree something that is sensible rather than what we’re getting. Because again there’s inconsistency, should Checo have been penalised in his incident with Liam, for example. I think that’s one of the fundamental that needs to be addressed.”
Stella: “I did not hear what Zak said about the penalty for Max. In my opinion, and this is a comment that I make straight out of the race, so there may be some more details in terms of looking at the incidents and the interpretation of the incidents, but in my view, the penalties seemed to be consistent with the application of the guidelines and in relation to those kind of incidents. So I think from this point of view, this has been a positive day because it shows that authority exists. It shows that the stewards have done a good job, a good job which surely comes from constant review like we do in any thing in Formula 1, you review and then you improve.
“And certainly we as a team, there are many things that we know we can review and improve. To me it looks like this process has happened also in terms of stewarding, in terms of the FIA having taken some feedback constructively on board and we appreciate this. Not as a team but as part of the F1 community, I feel like I have to thank the FIA and the stewards.”
Racing hard –
Verstappen: “We [Lando and I] didn’t touch. So, just racing hard. Last week that was all right, this week, 20-second penalty. Honestly, it [things changed from Austin] is not in my interest, I just keep racing. That’s what it is. Life goes on, you know. [The lead is] still 47 points. Hopefully we can just be a little bit more competitive. Let’s try 20s next year. It doesn’t matter. I have no opinion.”
Norris: “I’ve always fought fairly. That’s who I am. That’s who I am as a racer. That’s my way of driving every day. Maybe sometimes I’ve lost out because I’ve been too fair and not aggressive enough. And that’s where I have to find a better balance. And those are the things, the changes I’ve said I’ve had to change since last weekend and the course of this year, that when you’re racing these top guys, you learn things and you have to understand better these balances of attacking, defending, risk management, aggression, all of those types of things. But, yeah, for me, I don’t need to worry about them. It’s got nothing to do with me, in a way. I mean, I’ll do what I can. I’ll race fairly. If he doesn’t, then things will go like they did today. But I think he wants to race fairly. I hope he does. I think he enjoys those moments, too, when it’s a fair battle, but… Yeah, all I can do is keep doing what I’m doing.
“I feel like I’m doing a good job and we’ll see what happens. Chats with Max, I mean, we talk about different things. It’s not my job. it’s got nothing to do with me in a way. Today I felt like I just had to avoid collisions and that’s not what you feel like you want to do in a race. He’s in a very powerful position in the championship. He’s a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose. People can say it’s the other way around, like he’s got everything to lose and it’s all for me. But it’s not the case, you know. So it’s not for me. I’m focused on myself. I’m doing my own job, which was a good job today. And I’m happy with all of this and I’m happy with my whole weekend. But it’s not my job to control him. He knows how to drive. And I’m sure he knows that today was probably a bit over the limit.”
Turn 7 –
Norris: “I mean, you can see how far he went off the track. Yeah, I didn’t need to let Max through. I was ahead at the apex of 4. I had to avoid him crashing into me, and then 7 was the same thing again. The thing is, what I didn’t understand, like what didn’t come earlier, was he overtook off the track. It wasn’t that it was… I mean, 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, but, yeah, I mean, he says he drives to the rules. That was his main thing he said after last weekend, and today he took by going forwards off the track. We’ll see. Max will be back next weekend and I expect just more tough battles.”
Horner: “I think the Turn 7 incident is different. I think Max was expecting Lando to give up the pace, he’s obviously gone up the inside there, and they’ve both run wide. I can understand effectively forcing the car wide there why there would be a penalty applicable to that. But I think that was the frustration of potentially Lando not giving back the place from this incident here. So these things, they only escalate. It just changes the principle, the advantage used to be, the advantage was to have the inside line. The advantage will be to have the outside line and just brake later and claim foul. So I think we just have to be very careful.
“The laws of physics would not have…Lando with the weight of the car, look at the onboard, he wouldn’t have made the corner. I fear that maybe we’re over-complicating the principles of racing. And when you have to revert to an instruction manual of an overtake…I mean, the racing principles for years have been, if you have the inside line, you dictate the corner. And I think the way the regulations or the guidelines have evolved is encouraging a driver to have his nose ahead at the apex, irrelevant of whether you’re going to make the corner.”
Stella: “I think in your interpretation there is some level of subjectivity, which could be absolutely accurate interpretation but I would like to stay away from this. I don’t have all the facts, I don’t have even checked the incident more than once, I have only looked at the image. I do trust the words of the stewards, in my view, they interpreted the racing scenarios accurately, they applied the guidelines consistently. And like I said, for me this is a positive news for everyone. Regarding Turn 7, I think Lando was going through his normal line, because he could have never expected Max to go for the inside, effectively the element of the incident proved that there was no way to keep the car on track for Max,.
“So I think Lando was caught little bit by surprise but the evidence is, it is quite fair that he was surprised because actually you cannot keep a car on track if you enter inside the corner at that speed. I don’t want to comment on how Max is fighting Lando because again this is very subjective. As much as possible, I would like to comment on things that are objective, so I don’t comment on that. Lets say this outcome of this close fighting between Lando and Max is costing us points because it cost us points in Austin, it cost us potentially a go at victory but this is just my objective recognition of outcome of the fighting, as for the fighting, I don’t want to comment.”
Result, title –
Verstappen: “I mean, to get back to sixth was alright, but then I couldn’t even fight the Mercedes cars in front. I just had no grip, I was just sliding a lot, I couldn’t brake. So yeah, it was a very tough one. We’re trying [to improve], but I mean, Austin was more promising. Here again, it was a bit more tough, so it’s a bit odd. But a few things to look at, and hopefully, of course, Brazil, we can be more competitive.”
Norris: “I mean, I’m 47 behind still, so it doesn’t feel like I’m much closer than what I was, but every point helps. Charles got fastest lap at the end, so that’s one point they took away from me, but… Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just doing my own thing and focusing. And as a team, we’re doing our own thing and focusing on ourselves. A lot of people against us, but we’ll keep pushing forward.”
Pass him on track, possible –
Norris: “I mean, I’m not happy today because of that. I’m happy because I’m P2, but… Austria, no one should have got a penalty, I don’t think, I would say. Yeah, maybe some of my views are a little bit different now than what they were back then. Austria, I don’t think anyone should have got a penalty. Austin, I don’t think anyone should have got a penalty. Yeah, let’s say we both kind of did things wrong. I feel like I was made to do something wrong, and I wouldn’t say I… The majority of people, the 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 and those types of things.
“It’s because there’s a common consensus that it wasn’t correct what happened in the result that I had last weekend. Today, I think, was another level on both of those cases. Yeah, it was another level on both. I was ahead of Max in the braking zone, past the apex. I am avoiding crashing today. This is the difference. I can’t speak for him, and maybe he’ll say something different. But I think today 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, but it’s more that I hope Max acknowledges that he took it a step too far.”
No right of review –
Horner: “We won’t activate a right of review on this. I think the most important thing is what is the way to go racing going forward, because I’m not sure that it’s clear to the drivers or certain aspect of it, you just got to have your nose ahead at the apex point, which means you just do this, you come off the corner carrying speed, to get to that point and say ‘I am ahead of that’, at that point of time, you wouldn’t have made the pass.”
Austin and Mexico pass similar –
Horner: “It’s slightly different, because obviously both of them went off the track last week, and you can’t gain an advantage by passing off-track. This is different, because Max hasn’t actually gone off the track. He’s stayed within the perimeter. It’s something that really does need to get tidied up moving forward. “There’s great racing going on, and it’s just important that the rules of engagement are fair, rather than giving an advantage to the outside line. In the history of motorsport, being on the outside has always been the more risk place to be. Now, it’s almost the advantage because all you’ve got to do is have your nose ahead at the point they turn in, irrelevant if you’re going to make the corner or not.”
Frustration, aggression –
Horner: “It’s frustrating in that you don’t want to have to consult a rule book on every single overtake, or defence. All of these guys have grown up doing a lot of racing, and understand the principles of that. It’s just important that we don’t over-regulate into a point where you encourage a behaviour that is not within the guidelines and principles of motor racing. Max will always drive aggressively to what he perceives is in regulations, if you step over that mark then of course get a penalty, I just fear that we are perhaps over-complicating and all we are doing is encourage that there’s a constructive discussions among the drivers’ and the drivers’ stewards, that ‘okay, we are going to have another four hotly contested races, what is and what is acceptable’.”
Lost win –
Stella: “At the start of the race in the first stint, I thought this is probably not making a big difference because I thought the Ferraris are faster today. But as we were going through the first stint, as soon as Lando got clear of Verstappen, he showed he had very competitive pace, and in the second stint actually he proved he was as fast as Ferrari. So in hindsight now, when I look at the incidents in the early laps of the race, there is a little bit of disappointment because without that couple of incidents I think Lando could have fought for victory. Anyhow, it is just ‘if, if, if’, for me the important fact is that we have seen the car is competitive, the upgraded car seem to be now on par with Ferrari at a track that we thought would be more in favour of Ferrari, so this is encouraging for the remainder of the season.
“The message we gave to Lando was that we have pace if we are passing, lets do it, because we understood that at some stage we could compete with Ferrari and we were losing time behind Max. But obviously, we didn’t need to say as Lando knows very well, this kind of overtaking need to happen in a safe way, because for us, we are competing in both fronts, drivers’ championship and the constructors’ championship, even when you engage in these kinds of battle, you need to think both things. Like we need to finish races. But this was clear, we have talked extensively about this before the race in our objectives with the drivers, so we didn’t need to repeat to Lando.”
Assuring Norris –
Stella: “I think Lando can look at his own racing, often looking at the half-empty glass in relation to what he could do. Our conversations in our internal reviews have been very clear; Lando we like, we approve, we confirm the way you go racing. It’s not for you to go there and try to find justice yourself. You go racing in a fair, sporting way like you do and then there needs to be a third party which is the stewarding that will say whether those maneuverers are correct or not. Don’t be desperate, you don’t have to prove anything, you go racing fair and square. This is what we want from Lando.
“This is what Lando wants from himself, and I think it was important that the team kind of confirms that’s what we want from you Lando, that’s how we want to go racing at McLaren and for a driver driving a McLaren car. That’s why it’s a positive day because I think it has proven that it’s good to race hard, but it can’t be resolved on track by the two drivers. It needs a third party, it needs the authority, so we are completely happy with the way Lando has gone racing before. Any time I’ve read these types of headlines, I maybe need to have a conversation with him and reassure him, ‘don’t worry, it will be alright, time is a gentleman’.”
Here’s what happened: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-mexico-city-grand-prix-verstappen-handed-two-penalties-after-wheel-to-wheel-battle-with-norris.1814108293397679972
Here’s Lando Norris taking P2: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-mexico-city-grand-prix-norris-grabs-p2-after-leclerc-runs-very-wide-on-the-final-corner.1814104958281010807
Here’s Max Verstappen losing P1: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-mexico-city-grand-prix-sainz-grabs-back-the-lead-from-verstappen.1814100744429542193
Here’s FIA on the penalties, Turn 4: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Mexico%20City%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%201%20-%20Turn%204%20Forcing%20another%20driver%20of%20the%20track%20(corrected).pdf
Here’s how F1 Mexico GP panned out
Here’s link to a F1 Discord channel, join in to interact
