Telemetry data from Verstappen reveals the truth in the latest Norris incident

The tough battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a second chapter during the Mexican GP. After the McLaren driver’s controversial penalty in Austin, this time it was the Red Bull driver who was punished by the stewards.

We explain why Verstappen’s 20 second penalty was correctly applied by analyzing the regulations, the telemetry of both cars and the TV images.

How Max Verstappen saw the red mist

After the Safety Car restart, caused by contact on lap 1 between Yuki Tsunoda and Alexander Albon, Verstappen retained the lead he had won from Carlos Sainz at the start of lap 1 with a classic ‘Mad Max’ maneuver on the inside of Turn 1. But vulnerable and without DRS he would soon lose P1 again to Sainz with a great move from the Spanish driver in lap 9.

Norris was soon behind the RB20, which visibly had less pace than the SF24 and MCL38. On the next lap, using the DRS on the long straight, Norris put himself in a great position to attack Verstappen again in the second DRS zone before braking at Turn 4.

The Turn 4 incident

And here came the first controversial move of lap 10. Lando Norris attacked Max Verstappen on the outside in Turn 4. While we cannot attach specific broadcast footage for copyright reasons, we invite readers to watch the action for themselves to understand the following explanation understand.

The images clearly show that Norris’s MCL38 front axle is slightly ahead of Verstappen before, during and after reaching the top of Turn 4. This was correctly interpreted by the stewards and in accordance with the Driving Standard Guidelines on overtaking on the outside of Turn 4. a corner.

“In order for a car being overtaken to give sufficient space to an overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a significant part of the car next to the car being overtaken and the overtaking maneuver must be carried out in a safe and controlled manner. while the car can remain clearly within the boundaries of the circuit.”

“When considering what constitutes a ‘significant part’ for an overtaking action on the outside of a corner, among the various factors that the stewards will look at in exercising their discretion, the stewards will consider whether the overtaking car is ahead of the bend. other car from the top of the corner. The car being overtaken must be able to negotiate the bend and still stay within the boundaries of the track.”

Despite overtaking on the outside, Norris was ahead at the top and also left enough space for Verstappen to make his turn within the track limits. As a ‘defensive car’, Verstappen did not comply with this last rule and therefore tried to avoid overtaking by ‘forcing another driver off the track’, which can be punished with a 10-second time penalty.

Furthermore, and this is the important fact, the stewards considered that Norris could have performed the overtaking maneuver in a controlled manner and without exceeding the track limits had he not been forced off the track by Verstappen. Let’s analyze the telemetry to see if this consideration is correct or not.

If you take this into account, and especially look at the TV footage to see the racing lines of both cars, you can see that although Norris clearly brakes later – apparently to complete the overtaking – that braking is sufficient to stay within the track limits and attempted overtaking maneuver. He also left enough space for Verstappen to make the turn without any problems.

But Max Verstappen uses 20% more throttle at the top exit and does so with the intention of pushing off Norris, who has to brake twice to avoid contact with the Red Bull driver and ultimately has no choice but to miss the next corner. In short, the Red Bull driver forces him to exceed the circuit limits.

This is a correct interpretation of the maneuver by the stewards and a correct application of Annex L, Chapter IV, Article 2b) of the International Sporting Code: “Maneuvers which may hinder other drivers, such as deliberately pushing a car beyond the edge of the circuit or any other abnormal change of direction are strictly prohibited”.

Special mention to Norris, who learned his lesson quickly after the American GP. The McLaren driver arrived first at the top, putting the regulations in his favor during the overtaking maneuver. Verstappen fell into his own trap, avoided the inevitable and earned a 10-second time penalty.

The Turn 8 contact

This maneuver is much less controversial than the first and easier to analyze. Verstappen was a bit miffed by the previous action and after seeing that Norris had taken the position, he wanted to regain it as quickly as possible and was extremely aggressive. So much so that his lack of composure at this point cost him another 10 second time penalty.

Verstappen attempted a dive bomb on Norris on the inside of the tricky Turn 7 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Let’s look at the driving standard guidelines again, but this time about how to overtake on the inside of a bend:

It is clear that the maneuver was not carried out in a controlled manner and, moreover, Verstappen regained the position on Norris by exceeding the track limits in Turn 8 immediately after Turn 7. In other words, he “left the court and gained an advantage.”

Another 10 second penalty, properly applied according to Annex L, Chapter IV, Article 2c) of the International Sporting Code: “Should a car leave the track for any reason, the driver may re-enter. However, this should only be done if it is safe to do so and without gaining any lasting benefit. A driver is considered to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with the track.”

Verstappen finished the Mexican GP in sixth place despite the 20-second penalty he imposed for his pit stop on lap 27, while Norris managed to overtake Charles Leclerc to finish second.

The British driver was aggressive enough in Turn 4 to make Verstappen fall for his own trick twice: first by being too aggressive in his defense and second by being too aggressive in an overtaking attempt that was motivated more by frustration than by logic.

Norris thus cuts 10 points off the Red Bull driver in the Drivers Championship but the Dutchman still leads with 362 points compared to the McLaren driver’s 315 points.

The season is approaching its final stages and the gap is still too big to expect a last-minute comeback from the British driver. But the battle, as we have seen in the past two Grands Prix, is still going on and ‘fiercer’ than ever.

Read the following: FIA stewards give Max Verstappen a huge punishment after the latest Norris clash