F1 Insider blames Lando Norris for costly mistake that cost him victory

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 presenter Martin Brundle has blamed Lando Norris for leaving the inside line wide open at Turn 1 of the opening lap during the United States Grand Prix, allowing championship rival Max Verstappen , took advantage of the situation, followed by both Ferraris.

Norris left enough space for the Dutchman to overtake him before both cars went wide, giving Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The McLaren man’s crucial mistake dropped him to fourth position after the first corner, while Verstappen found himself in second place between the two Ferrari SF-24s.

Despite Norris starting from pole position, the incident not only cost him the race lead, but also widened the gap to championship leader Verstappen by an additional five points. After the race weekend, Norris is now 57 points behind Verstappen. While Verstappen’s victory in the sprint race added to his points tally, Norris’ missed chance for a race win could have helped close that gap.

Adding to Norris’s challenge was a five-second time penalty he received for overtaking Verstappen outside the track limits. The British driver attempted to overtake at Turn 12 on lap 52 by taking the outside line on the left. However, Verstappen pushed Norris off the track, causing both cars to leave the asphalt. Although Norris managed to pass the Dutchman and initially crossed the finish line in third place, the subsequent penalty relegated him to fourth place.

The FIA ​​was criticized by McLaren and several others for its inconsistent rulings, as many other drivers involved in similar incidents received no penalties. However, Brundle believes that Norris was aware that he had to defend the inside line at the first corner, as he did during the sprint on Saturday, but failed to defend his first place in the Grand Prix. Brundle wrote in his Sky F1 column:

“Norris delivered a stunning lap for pole position in Grand Prix qualifying, while Verstappen lost some time at Turn 19.

“At the start of the Grand Prix everyone left at the same time and Norris knew he had to defend the inside line until the first corner.

“It had worked well for him on this line the day before. Inexplicably it still left reasonable space on the inside and Verstappen wasted no time in filling it.

“They both inevitably ran quite wide at the exit, Norris is now off track. The race director and stewards are more lenient about the opening lap as the cars will be in close contact the entire time and the incident was not like that.” even brought up for discussion before the stewards.”