Lando Norris shares new argument over controversial incident with Max Verstappen

Lando Norris believes the logic behind the stewards' decision-making at COTA was flawed as a crucial factor changed when he overtook Max Verstappen.

The McLaren driver believes the logic behind Verstappen's escape from the penalty for the incident which saw both he and Norris go off the track was incorrect.

Lando Norris: I was completely ahead of Max Verstappen

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

The Grand Prix's controversial moment came when an under-pressure Verstappen was attacked by Norris on the back straight and the McLaren passed before the braking zone at Turn 12.

Verstappen braked later than Norris, moved up to the inside of the McLaren and simply crowded Norris to the point where both drivers went into the avoidance zone when Verstappen went too far.

While Norris maintained his momentum on the outside to overtake Verstappen through the breakaway zone, his failure to give the place back resulted in a five-second time penalty that pushed him back to fourth behind Verstappen at the checkered flag.

The FIA's driving guidelines indicated that Verstappen adhered to all racing rules. A key factor in this equation was that Verstappen was seen as a defensive car in the incident – with guidelines allowing his crowd tactics.

This was relevant as both George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda were penalized for very similar moments in the same corner, the difference being that they were the attacking car – meaning they had to leave room for the other car, which was not respected .

As PlanetF1.com's Pablo Hidalgo pointed out this week, overtaking is not strictly defined – that is, the definition of when an overtaking is actually completed is not clear, clouding the question of whether Verstappen's actions can be viewed as attack or defense.

Because this prescriptive language in the driving guidelines played such a large role in the stewards' assessment of the incident, Norris believes the opposite circumstances should have applied since he had already overtaken Verstappen.

“I think what we saw with the George and Bottas version was in some ways very similar to our version,” Norris told media including PlanetF1.com ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

“I was completely ahead of Max. I was over a car length ahead of him and was therefore no longer the attacking car. He was.

“I was in front of Max, so I didn't have to defend myself. He was the one who attacked me and he pushed too hard and went off the track. I just stood my ground.

“He only stayed in front of me at the apex because he got off the track. He wouldn’t have been in front at the apex if he had braked where he should have braked and would have fallen on the track.”

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Norris acknowledged the stewards had been put in a difficult position, but simply said “no” when asked if he understood the thinking behind their decision-making.

“I think it's very difficult to manage things like this because every single case is different and no two are the same,” he said.

“I just think you have to know the intentions of the drivers. You have to understand their thought process, and you can only really do that with people who have been drivers and understand racing because they've held those positions.

“Maybe some people who haven't driven cars or raced still understand these things, but it's a complicated thing.

“So I think the stewards’ decision came about somehow. I would say I agree with the general thought process about how they need to apply rules. It's their job.

“If it says so, then that is the rule that must be applied. But I think what happened last weekend is not one of them.”

Norris said he expects this to be a hot topic at Friday's drivers' meeting and revealed that a number of other competitors agreed with his position.

“I'm sure we'll discuss this [in the driver’s meeting] because it was a big topic of conversation,” he said.

“Since last weekend it has been the main topic of conversation, not just for us but for everyone.

“A lot of other riders didn't agree with it, other teams didn't agree with it, but at the same time we're in Mexico and I have to focus on this weekend.”

Read more: Lando Norris admits “changes” to driving style are needed to counter Max Verstappen’s aggression