After a year of complete Red Bull domination, the fight for the championship has finally heated up. This past weekend the United States Grand Prix took place. During the feature race, we saw Lando Norris and Max Verstappen face off again. From the very first lap, Norris and Verstappen went head to head.
Norris needed to clinch the top position, which was true for Verstappen. Unfortunately, neither of them managed to top the podium. During the race, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen fought hard for a position on the podium. Despite finishing third, Norris did not make the podium. Why is that?
Should Lando Norris have given the position back to Max Verstappen?
As the race approached its end, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen got closer to each other. Verstappen defended as hard as possible, but Norris was able to overtake him. However, the overtake was performed outside the track limits. Instead of giving the position back right away, Norris stayed in third. Was this the right call?
Couldn’t watch yesterday’s spectacle of a race?
There were battles all across the field and a late-race battle between the championship contenders!
Here’s everything you missed👇 https://t.co/p0Y3C4Mzdi… #F1 #USGP
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 21, 2024
Red Bull team principal Christan Horner said Norris should have immediately swapped positions. He said, “It was crystal clear that the pass had been made off the track so Lando should have given the place back” (The Independent). At the end of the race, Norris himself also mentioned over his radio that he should have given the position back. If he had, he could have attempted to overtake again.
What does Norris need to do to win the championship?
Before this race, Max Verstappen only needed to place second to Lando Norris to win the championship. With Norris placing behind Verstappen in both the sprint and feature races, that statistic has changed. Verstappen has extended his lead to 57. With 5 feature races, 2 sprint races, and 5 fastest lap points there are only 146 points left to grab.
A big moment in the race and potentially the season 😮
Norris overtakes Verstappen but picks up a 5-second penalty for passing off track ✋#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/y1DFXGde0U
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2024
For Norris to win the championship, he has to come first in every remaining sprint and feature race as well as taking the fastest lap. However, if Verstappen places second once (at a feature race) and third in every other race, he will still take the win. If Norris wants to win the World Drivers’ Championship, he can not afford to be making mistakes; whether they are his or McLaren’s. Is McLaren fumbling both championships?
