Lando Norris was dealt a massive blow on Sunday as he failed to close the gap on Verstappens’ lead at the top of the drivers’ standings.
The race was dominated by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who managed to take the lead into turn one on the opening lap after Norris and Verstappen both ran wide.
It was a similar story for Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz, who undercut Verstappen helping the Italian team get a one-two finish.
With the two Ferraris off in the distance, it was all heating up behind them between Verstappen and Norris in the fight for the final podium spot.
Four laps to go, Norris thought he had taken the spot into Turn 12 only to end up being run wide by Verstappen in an attempt to stop him from getting passed.
Both drivers were instantly on the radio to their team it was up to the FIA to determine who was in the wrong.
Norris chose not to give the position back, and in hindsight, he should’ve done as a lap later he was slapped with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Because he only built a 4.1-second gap on Verstappen, Norris was demoted to fourth, with Verstappen extending his lead at the top to 57 points.
Post-race interview
When Norris was asked about the incident after the race, this is what he had to say.
“He went off the track by defending, he’s over-defended and made a mistake, and therefore he’s gained from that.”
“At the same time, because of that, I’ve had to go off the track. It’s impossible for people to know if I could have made it on the track or couldn’t therefore you cannot steward that kind of thing.”
With the championship still all to play for, Norris also called out what he thinks are inconsistent decision-making from the stewards.
“Those are the rules, but they seem to change because I feel like it’s quite inconsistent from say what happened in Austria where Max didn’t get a penalty and went off the track, gained an advantage. So I think there’s again, inconsistency.”
He also believes that the stewards were too quick to give him a penalty for not hearing his or his teams points.
“It’s tough for me. It’s just a rushed decision, and they don’t hear or understand our points, which they should do after the race. They just want to make a decision at the time, so you don’t alter points and podiums and things like that, but therefore it’s a rushed decision.”
“They didn’t hear my point of discussion or my team’s point or Max’s point, which I don’t think is maybe the most correct thing, but today it was a penalty, and not a lot I can do apart from just accept that.”
