Drivers seeking FIA answers over why Verstappen wasn’t penalised in Austin

Formula 1 drivers are set to review the United States Grand Prix battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in Mexico’s driver briefing amid questions over how the FIA’s racing rules are applied.

Verstappen and Norris fought a hard battle for third position in Austin until they both went off at Austin’s Turn 12 with four laps to go. Norris passed his title rival off the track, which netted him a five-second penalty, while Verstappen went unpunished for pushing his colleague off.

According to the racing standards guidelines as they are written, Verstappen was in the right as the defending car and did not have to leave Norris racing room. McLaren launched a right of review petition on Thursday to revisit the case, with Norris arguing that because he was already ahead of Verstappen he was the defending party rather than the Dutchman.

While the stewards appeared to apply the rules as they stand correctly, several leading drivers have taken issue with the practice of drivers being able to launch up the inside with no regard of whether or not they are able to make the corner, as long as they are ahead of their rival at the apex.

“It’s always been a grey area,” said Lewis Hamilton. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure. Also we do have inconsistencies through rulings depending on which stewards are there. And as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas.

“I experienced it many times with Max. You shouldn’t be able to just launch the car up the inside and then go off and still hold the position.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell says he’s interested in learning how the FIA looks at the incident now, and whether their interpretation means Verstappen was totally in the right or was exploiting an unintended loophole in the current guidelines – or “taking the piss” as Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas described it.

“I don’t think you can write a set of regulations that covers every single possible scenario, it is a very fine line,” drivers’ association director Russell said.

“I’m really interested to see if the FIA believe, having reviewed everything again, if Max should have been penalised for what he did or not. In my view, he should have been penalised. Therefore, there isn’t really a loophole. If they say: ‘Based on our regulations, he should not have been penalised’, then he is exploring a loophole.”

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said he also had questions over how aggressive a defending car can be.

“That is a very good question that I need to ask the stewards, because obviously it changes the way we go racing,” he said. “It means the guy defending on the inside can brake as late as they want and they can fake the fact that you are trying to hit the apex when you are maybe not.

“It needs to be clarified because in that case they were both to blame; Max for running wide and Lando for gaining a position off the track. That is why that specific scenario is a very complicated one on how to rule on it.”

Russell and Sainz both agreed that a gravel strip on the outside of Turn 12 would largely fix the underlying issue, and few drivers are expecting similar issues this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

“The root cause of the problem is having a circuit that allows you to run wide,” Russell said. “And if we take Austria last year as an example, you had, I don’t know, 300 track limit problems. They put gravel in, and there’s no problems.

“If you put gravel on that corner, Lando doesn’t go off and overtake, and Max doesn’t brake that late and go off as well.”

Sainz added making circuit changes would be much more straightforward than endless discussions about racing rules.

“If you think about it, the solution might be solved by itself by circuit standards or modifications. We keep going around in circles with guidelines that might be easier to solve with certain, slight changes to the track, which some tracks have already performed.”

Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, which also hosts MotoGP that has different run-off requirements, is understood to be in discussions with the FIA over potential changes for 2025.

Additional reporting by Alex Kalinauckas and Erwin Jaeggi