Norris baffled by 'off-track' rules after latest controversial Verstappen battle

Lando Norris was left baffled by the decisions of the United States Grand Prix stewards after twice being on the receiving end in his latest tense scrap with F1 title rival Max Verstappen.

The initial incident at Turn 1 appeared to be nothing more than an opening-lap, first-corner, let-them-race skirmish as second-on-the-grid Verstappen squeezed through a tight gap on the inside of polesitter Norris, forcing them both wide, allowing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to take full advantage.

Later in the race, after Norris had reeled in Verstappen on fresher hard tyres, the duo went wheel to wheel into Turn 12 on lap 52 of 56. Norris barely had the apex but was forced wide by the Red Bull driver, going on to complete a move for third position off-track.

Although Verstappen also ran off track in defending, the stewards handed Norris a five-second penalty for going off track and gaining an advantage, dropping him from third at the chequered flag to fourth on the results sheet, losing another three points in their championship.

Suggested to Norris it was a missed opportunity, speaking to Sky Sports F1, he replied: "It's impossible to know. They [the stewards] obviously can't make up their minds for a few laps so it's not an easy decision otherwise it would have come a bit sooner.

"I tried. He also went off the track. If he goes off the track, then clearly he has gone in way too hard and also gained an advantage by doing what he did. I don't make the rules, so..."

Norris - I don't know what to do

Assessing the start and whether there was any more he could have done, Norris replied: "Yeah, potentially. I need to go and look at it again. I was pretty tight. Obviously Max went for a tight gap.

"From inside the car, it's harder to say on some things and also easier to say with some things.

"He'd obviously committed quite a bit, which he has the right to do but again he went completely off the track. I don't know. I need to look back at it.

"At the same point he's obviously overtaken by going off track so I don't know what to do. He defends by going off track, he overtakes by going off track, but I'm not going to complain.

"Max drove well, he defended well, we had a good race but the rules are the rules."

McLaren's clear pace advantage at the last race in Singapore disappeared in Austin, with Ferrari comfortably the fastest.

It is now a three-way battle for the constructors' championship, with McLaren 40 points ahead of Red Bull, with Ferrari a further eight points adrift.

"We were a lot slower than the Ferraris and the Red Bulls," assessed Norris. "We probably ended up where we expected to be. I would have liked third, and I think third is what we deserved.

"But we still didn't have the pace compared to the Ferraris so even if I'd have come out of Turn 1 in first, I think I would still have finished third.

"But that's life. It was a tough weekend from the start. We made good progress throughout, but we need a good chunk compared to the Ferrari."