Drivers warned Thursday that the decision to penalize Lando Norris at Austin after Max was caught off-track, benefiting from a Verstappen which forced the Briton off course, setting a bad precedent. Starting with the stewards’ decision at the United States GP, everyone will push that regulation to the limit with the goal of meeting the only requirement of a very basic rule that must be reviewed and redrafted: the car that arrives first The vertex of the curve has priority. And in Mexico, there was a problem.
Once again, the same two protagonists made trouble in the Mexican F1 GP. Just a week after their controversial meeting, they met again at the start of the race this Sunday. And there was a touch.
Verstappen was running in second position behind Sainz, with Norris a close third and Leclerc in fourth. On lap 10, the Briton attacked the Dutchman with everything, reaching the front at the top, but Max went wide and strangled his rival, who was forced to leave the track with a clear sharp turn, holding the left wheel in in front of Norris.
Immediately after, the all-out battle between the two title candidates was re-aired and the result was the same. Norrís, on the outside, went in with everyone and Max was more aggressive. He closed in on his opponent again, forcing him off the track again. Max also went straight and returned to the asphalt ahead of Lando, in third position, already behind Leclerc.
The big beneficiaries are the Ferraris. Leclerc took advantage of that situation to move into second and Carlos Sainz could start to open up a gap, with Charles right behind.
Double penalty for Verstappen
Finally, this time the administrators acted quickly and announced the investigation of two actions, on turns 4 and 8. They gave it a total of 20 seconds, 10 for each action. In one, for throwing his rival off the track (turn 4). And at turn 8, for having an advantage outside the track, because Max returned to the asphalt ahead, in third place he would lose when he served a 20-second penalty in his pit stop.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
