Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are in a fierce battle for this year’s drivers’ championship. There was much debate about their clash in Austin last weekend, and it was bound to happen again. This time, they came together on two occasions at this week’s Mexican GP.
Max received a 20-second penalty for two incidents on lap 10. The first incident saw Verstappen adjudged to have forced Norris off the track at turn 4. The second, the stewards found the Dutchman guilty of leaving the track and gaining an advantage at turn 7. Both Christian Horner and Zak Brown have weighed in on their views of the penalties.
Horner feels penalties at Mexican GP ‘too harsh’
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner feels that two ten-second penalties were ‘too harsh’ for Max. Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, he said: “Max didn’t leave the track at Turn 4, then Turn 7 Lando opened the door very late.”
“They both ran off there. But the problem is we’re going to get into very dangerous territory of ‘At what point is that a dive bomb is going to be okay?’ I thought two 10-seconds was a bit on the harsh side today.”
“I think we’re going to get into very dangerous territory” 😳
Christian Horner on Max Verstappen’s penalties for his Mexico clash with Lando Norris 👇 pic.twitter.com/dH2azn6vU0
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 27, 2024
On both occasions, Norris was forced off the track, meaning two penalties were most likely coming Max’s way. However, the Brit was only given a five-second penalty back in Austin for gaining an advantage after leaving the track. Is this more inconsistent stewarding? Or are they trying to put down a marker for what is acceptable in wheel-to-wheel combat?
Brown doesn’t think Mexican GP’s penalties were ‘harsh enough’
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has applauded the stewards for taking action against Verstappen. He believes these penalties have put down a marker for making racing ‘clean’ but the consequences for Verstappen may not have been enough.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Brown said: “[The penalties were] Probably not enough. It’s getting a bit ridiculous. So I applaud the the FIA stewards. Let’s just have good clean racing moving forward.”
The title rivals come together in Mexico 💥
A recap of that battle between Lando and Max 👀#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/bQaIaoCYOl
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 28, 2024
After the past two weekends, it will interesting what will happen in the final race of the triple-header in Brazil. Back in 2021, Verstappen and Hamilton were caught up in an incident at turn 4, where Max pushed Lewis off the track. The Dutchman received no penalties for the incident.
However, with the latest stewarding decisions, it will be interesting to see how Verstappen races at Interlagos. The Red Bull looks to be the third-fastest car, behind Ferrari and McLaren. Verstappen has a 47 lead going into the final four races. However, with also two sprint races yet to come, he can’t afford to lose too much ground to Lando.
In all likelihood, the two championship protagonists will be on the piece of track again. The question is, will these penalties affect the three-time world champions mentality?
