Villeneuve slates 'amateur' F1 stewards after Verstappen-Norris clashes

F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has criticised the stewards' handling of the Max Verstappen and Lando Norris battle in the United States Grand Prix on Sunday.

The final laps of the race saw Norris attack Verstappen for third position, with the Briton moving ahead of his title rival with an off-track overtake

It resulted in a five-second time penalty which dropped him back to fourth place, allowing Verstappen to slightly extend his championship lead.

Villeneuve has labelled the stewards as “real amateurs” for not considering Verstappen's car placement in the incident.

"Why was he off the track? Because he had been pushed off the track,” he told CanadaCasino. “He did gain an advantage, but Max did not make the corner. They were both off.

“They didn't even acknowledge that Max pushed Norris off the track. They didn't even look at it. They were real amateurs. 

“If both had been penalised, Norris would have got two more points and Max would have four less and an extra two points for McLaren from Piastri.”

Villeneuve calls for consistent calls

Since the incident, there have been renewed calls for permanent stewards, with drivers left frustrated by inconsistent decisions.

Villeneuve stated the penalties should be based on a driver's action, rather than the outcome of an incident.

“It was just incompetence by the stewards to not see what was going on,” the 1997 champion said.

“People want to see consistency. It should not be based on the results of the action by a driver. It should be based on the action itself. Because Norris got an advantage, they penalised him while ignoring who started it all.

“There were two separate incidents. Both should have had five-second penalties. It is quite clear in the rules.”