In a surprisingly close championship race between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, their teams took the competition to the Mexico City Grand Prix due to a disagreement over officiating from the previous week’s race.
McLaren filed a complaint regarding the penalty Norris received during the United States Grand Prix, aiming to have it overturned and bring Verstappen back within reach. However, the appeal was rejected late Friday night.
Norris was given a five-second penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track late in the race in Austin, Texas. They were competing for third place at that moment, and the penalty meant Verstappen secured the final podium spot.
This change increased Verstappen’s lead to 57 points ahead of Sunday’s race in Mexico City, with only five races left to determine the champion.
Norris insists he did nothing wrong and, along with many other drivers, believes Verstappen should have faced a penalty for his defensive maneuvers.
“He did what he thought was right, and I did what I thought was right. I still disagree, and as a team, we disagree,” Norris said.
“It is something I am sure we will discuss as it has been a big talking point since last weekend. A lot of other drivers didn’t agree with it, and teams didn’t agree with it.”
The same stewards who imposed the penalty at the US Grand Prix listened to the appeal through a video conference late Friday afternoon.
Verstappen expressed in Mexico that he feels Formula 1 has become overly strict. He mentioned he was required to do community service for swearing during a news conference in Singapore last month and joked that he should keep a copy of the rulebook in his car to stay updated on all the rules.
“I think we are getting to a stage where I always need the book in the car. If you look over the years, the book has grown quite a lot,” Verstappen said. “It is definitely over-regulated.”
On the other hand, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton seemed to support Norris, stating that Verstappen often gets favorable treatment from the stewards.
“I mean, it’s always been a gray area. That’s why he’s gotten away with it for so long,” Hamilton said. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure. We do have inconsistencies weekend in, weekend out, depending on which stewards are there.
“And as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas,” he added. “We look at, like, other global sports, they have full-time refs, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.”
