Verstappen rejects “mind readers” in controversial Norris incident

Max Verstappen finds it impressive that “people can read my mind” about the controversial incident involving Lando Norris at the US Grand Prix.

McLaren has since protested the five-second time penalty Norris received after he attempted to overtake Verstappen for third place at Turn 12 on lap 52 of 56.

Verstappen pushed both of them too far, Norris went off the track and received a penalty, which moved Verstappen back up to third in the final result.

The three-time world champion was criticized by some who felt he had “played” Formula One's overtaking guidelines by not attempting to take the conventional line at Turn 12 and always planning to overtake Norris on the sidelines of the race. It's something he found amusing.

“It’s pretty impressive that people can read my mind,” said Verstappen when asked by the media RacingNews365 about the comments. “It’s crazy, I mean I’m always trying to create a corner.”

“I didn’t want to look for a shortcut and we always said we wanted to compete hard, that’s what we like to do.”

Verstappen's defense

Before the trouble spot, Verstappen had built up a strong rearguard against Norris and kept the McLaren at bay for several laps.

This happened despite brake problems on board his RB20 machine.

“It was a pretty difficult second stint, I lost a lot of grip on the front axle, it was very difficult to brake,” he said.

“That made my defense more difficult because I knew that if I braked a little too late I could block and not really have the grip.”

“It wasn't easy for me out there, but it was still positive and it showed some promising signs that we might be able to get back into the fight.”