Lando Norris was recently penalized for his incident with Max Verstappen at the 2024 F1 US GP. The Mclaren driver went off the track, overtook Verstappen, and kept the place for several minutes, which resulted in him getting a five-second time penalty.
Verstappen and Norris started the race from the front row and went side by side into turn 1, which cost them both a number of positions. Both drivers kept fighting and pushing forward later in the race. The McLaren driver pursued the reigning world champion in the closing moments of the race. Norris attempted a last lunge around the outside at Turn 12 on Lap 52 but went off the track and passed Verstappen.
The FIA checked the data, and the onboard footage to make an informed decision on the matter. In their official statement, they explained that since Lando Norris was not ahead of Max Verstappen at the apex, he lost the right to the corner itself. It was then mentioned Norris had left the track to gain an advantage against Verstappen.
The race stewards imposed a five-second penalty on Norris rather than a regular 10-second penalty as the British driver had no other alternative other than to leave the track and pass Verstappen in the wheel-to-wheel battle. Consequently, the Dutchman finished P3, and the McLaren driver finished P4.
Lando Norris could have received another penalty due to his track limit violation but the stewards did not consider Norris’s off-track moment with Verstappen as a track limit violation as he had nowhere to go during the tussle.
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