The spicy fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a second chapter at the Mexican GP. After the controversial penalty of the McLaren driver in Austin, this time it was the Red Bull driver who was penalized by the stewards.

We explain why Verstappen’s 20-second penalty was correctly applied by analyzing the regulations, telemetry from both cars and TV footage.

How Max Verstappen saw the red mist

After the restart of the Safety Car caused by contact on the first lap between Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon, Verstappen maintained the lead he had gained over Carlos Sainz at the start of the first lap with a classic “Mad Max” maneuver on the inside of Turn 1. However, vulnerable and without DRS, he would soon lose P1 again against Sainz with a superb move from the Spanish driver on the 9th lap.

Norris was soon on the back of the RB20, which had noticeably less pace than the SF24 and MCL38. On the next lap, taking advantage of DRS on the long main straight, Norris put himself in an excellent position to attack Verstappen again in the second DRS zone before braking at turn 4.

The turn 4 incident

And here comes the first controversial action of the 10th round. Lando Norris attacks Max Verstappen on the outside at Turn 4. Although we cannot attach specific broadcast images for copyright reasons, we urge readers to watch the action themselves to understand the following explanation.

In the footage, it is clear that Norris’ MCL38 front axle is slightly ahead of Verstappen before, during and after reaching the apex of Turn 4. This was correctly interpreted by the stewards and in line with the guidelines of the racing standards. driving regarding overtaking on the outside of the bend. a corner.

“For an overtaken car to be obliged to give sufficient space to an overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a significant part of the car next to the overtaken car and the overtaking maneuver must be carried out in a safe manner and controlled. , while allowing the car to remain clearly within the limits of the track.”

“When considering what constitutes a ‘significant part’, for overtaking on the outside of a corner, among the various factors which will be considered by the stewards when exercising their discretion, the stewards athletes will consider whether the overtaking car is ahead of the overtaking car from the apex of the corner. The overtaken car must be able to take the corner while remaining within the limits of the track.

Norris was leading at the top despite overtaking on the outside and also left enough space for Verstappen to take his corner within the track limits. Verstappen did not respect this last rule as a “defending car” and therefore tried to avoid overtaking by “forcing another driver off the track”, which carries a 10 second penalty .

Furthermore, and this is the important fact, the stewards considered that Norris could have carried out the overtaking maneuver in a controlled manner and without exceeding the limits of the track if he had not been forced off the track by Verstappen. Let’s analyze the telemetry to see if this consideration is correct or not.

Taking this into account and especially looking at the images on television to see the racing lines of the two cars, we can see that although Norris clearly brakes later – obviously in an attempt to complete the overtake – this braking is sufficient to stay within the limits of the track and attempt the overtaking maneuver. It also left enough room for Verstappen to take the corner without any problems.

But Max Verstappen, using 20% ​​more throttle at the top exit, does so with the intention of pushing back Norris who has to brake twice to avoid contact with the Red Bull driver and ultimately has no other choice than missing the next turn. In short, the Red Bull driver forces him to exceed the limits of the track.

This is a correct interpretation of the maneuver by the stewards and a correct application of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2b) of the International Sporting Code: “Maneuvers likely to disturb other drivers, such as the deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track.” the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited.

Special mention for Norris who quickly learned his lesson after the United States GP. The McLaren driver got to the top first, putting the rules in his favor during the overtaking maneuver and Verstappen fell into his own trap, avoiding the inevitable and earning himself a 10-second penalty.

The contact of turn 8

This maneuver is much less controversial than the first and easier to analyze. Verstappen was a little upset by the previous action and after seeing that Norris had won the position, he wanted to regain it as quickly as possible and was extremely aggressive. So much so that his lack of composure at that moment cost him another 10 second penalty.

Verstappen attempted a dive bomb on Norris on the inside of the tricky Turn 7 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. If we look at the driving standards guidelines again, but this time regarding how to overtake on the inside of a bend:

“For an overtaken car to be obliged to give sufficient space to an overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a significant part of the car next to the overtaken car and the overtaking maneuver must be carried out in a safe manner and controlled. , while allowing the car to remain clearly within the limits of the track.”

Obviously, the maneuver was not carried out in a controlled manner and moreover, Verstappen regained the position on Norris by exceeding the track limits at turn 8 immediately after turn 7. In other words, he “ left the track and took the advantage.

Another 10-second penalty well applied according to Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2c) of the International Sporting Code: “If a car leaves the track for whatever reason, the driver may rejoin it. However, this can only be done when it is safe and without any lasting benefit. A driver will be considered to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with the track.

Verstappen finished the Mexican GP in sixth position despite the 20-second penalty he served before his pit stop on lap 27, while Norris managed to pass Charles Leclerc to finish second.

The British driver was aggressive enough at Turn 4 for Verstappen to be fooled twice: first by being too aggressive in his defense and then by being too aggressive in an overtaking attempt more motivated by frustration than by logic.

Norris thus cuts 10 points from the Red Bull driver by Drivers’ Championship but the Dutchman still leads with 362 points against 315 points for the McLaren driver.

The season is approaching its final stage and the gap is still too large to hope for a last minute return from the British driver. But the fight, as we have seen during the last two Grands Prix, is still relevant and “spicier” than ever.

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