Norris 'drove like a muppet' in Verstappen USGP defence

Lando Norris feels he "drove like a muppet" in losing his lead to Max Verstappen at the start of the United States Grand Prix.

McLaren driver Norris made a strong start off the line at Austin's Circuit of the Americas ahead of three-time champion Verstappen who had been alongside the Briton on the front row.

On the run up the hill, it appeared as if Norris had Red Bull driver Verstappen covered, only for the Dutchman to dive into a gap at the sharp Turn 1 left-hander.

The manoeuvre forced both of them wide, allowing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to take advantage and the lead, from which he went on to win the race ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, with Verstappen third and Norris fourth following a contentious ending.

Although McLaren felt aggrieved Verstappen had pushed Norris off the track, the stewards took no action, with the inference being it was a typical opening-lap incident.

Norris, however, knows he should have done better. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, he said: “The thing is with Max, you’ve got to commit. People don’t understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can’t just go half-hearted.

“Turn 1 is a bit harder to say, whether it was because I didn’t commit enough, but the fact that he committed so much speed in that he again went off the track. I can’t just dive up the inside of someone, run off, and then keep the position in normal running.

“But for some reason, it’s completely okay in lap 1, turn 1. It’s a tough one.”

Reflecting on the Turn 1 incident more specifically, Norris added: “If I had defended better in Turn 1 and wasn’t driving like a muppet… I should have led after Turn 1, and we shouldn’t have this conversation in the first place."

Norris - Impossible to know

It was the lap 52 incident, however, that later caused the greater degree of controversy, with Norris receiving a five-second penalty for overtaking Verstappen off track through Turn 12, and not handing back the third position they were fighting over.

Norris was penalised under the Driving Standards Guidelines, which make clear the driver who has the apex has the advantage, and that Norris, in this particular case, had lost his 'right' to the corner.

The contrary position is that Verstappen only had the apex under late braking, with his momentum forcing Norris wide.

"It's tough," said Norris. "There are different alterations of things. It's a tough job to destroy these kind of things.

"For me, whatever I did, I did. For me, the point that is incorrect is what Max did, which is also defend his position by going off the track, and what effectively would be keeping his position, which is not correct.

"He went off the track by defending, and 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 [the overtake] on the track or I couldn't."