McLaren berated for ‘very big’ US GP error in judgment

Former Dutch racing driver Mike Hezemans believes McLaren made a "very big mistake" in not telling Lando Norris to concede his illegally-gained position on Max Verstappen during the United States Grand Prix.

On lap 52 of 56, the British driver passed the Red Bull around the outside of Turn 12, but did so off circuit with the Dutchman - who also exceeded track limits - planting his RB20 on the apex of the corner.

Both drivers immediately stated their cases to their respective teams and the incident was quickly investigated by the stewards, who deemed Norris had passed illegally.

The 24-year-old was handed a five-second time penalty, which dropped him from third to fourth after crossing the chequered flag, with Verstappen promoted back up to the podium places.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has bemoaned the decision, calling the stewards out for their haste.

However, Hezemans feels the Woking team should have foreseen the penalty and informed Norris he should sacrifice the position and try again.

"McLaren made a very big mistake by not giving that place back," he exclusively told RacingNews365. "The team has to have people sitting there who can analyse this and make a decision within a lap.

"And then they should say, 'Lando, give that place back and try again.'

Turning his attention to Verstappen, Hezemans underlined the brilliance of the three-time drivers' champion, arguing that no other driver would have been able to defend in the same way.

"Max is just mega good at defending and knows exactly at the right time to use the battery of his hybrid system," he explained.

"Max had a lot of understeer and that makes it even more clever. Any other driver would have been overtaken a long time ago, but this is really Max. He makes very skilful use of all the resources at his disposal."

Not only did McLaren feel the decision was made too quickly, and that a more considered approach would have been more appropriate, Stella confirmed the team believed it would have been Verstappen on the receiving end of any punishment.

Hezemans disagreed with that outline, admitting he did not initially believe Norris was deserving of a penalty.

"I thought not at first, but when I watched the footage with Anthony Davidson [on Sky Sports F1], it became clear to me that it was a penalty," he stated.

"Max didn't really push him off the track and was in front of him at the apex. That's a rule.

"Max got a track limit because he went off the track. But Norris was behind Max's rear wheels with his front wheels and did actually choose to drive around it on the outside.

"I did agree with the stewards this time that Lando's penalty, five seconds, was justified for overtaking off the track."