Norris penalised for Verstappen pass as Leclerc wins US GP

Max Verstappen has extended his drivers' championship lead over Lando Norris to 57 points. (Getty Images)

BBC Sport, October 21 — The title battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris erupted in controversy at the United States Grand Prix after the McLaren driver was penalised for passing his rival for third place off the track.

The race was dominated by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took the lead on the first lap after Norris and Verstappen ran wide at the first corner of the race.

Leclerc was imperious in leading Carlos Sainz to a Ferrari one-two once he had moved into first place, but the drama was all behind him in Austin.

Norris finished third after passing Verstappen around the outside at Turn 12 with four laps to go, only to run off the track on the exit of the corner.

Norris chose not to give the place back, while Verstappen complained he had to, and the stewards agreed with the Dutchman.

They handed Norris a five-second penalty and as he had pulled out only a 4.1-second lead once in front, he was dropped back to fourth place, one behind the Red Bull driver, in the results.

Verstappen has therefore extended his drivers' championship lead to 57 points with five races to go and 146 points still available.

Engrossing battle between title rivals ends in controversy

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen both went off at the first corner, allowing Charles Leclerc to pass both from fourth on the grid. (Getty Images)

The race was bookended by two incidents between the title rivals, at the start and in the closing stages at the Circuit of the Americas.

At the first corner, Norris, who was on pole, appeared to have covered the inside line, but Verstappen went for it anyway and the two drivers ran off the track on the exit.

Norris complained Verstappen had forced him off and should give the place back, but the stewards did not investigate the incident.

Their battle allowed Leclerc to slip by into the lead, and once there he was in total control of the race.

He quickly extended his advantage and it soon became clear the Ferrari driver would dominate unless something went wrong.

Leclerc was 10 seconds in the lead by the time Verstappen in second place made his first pit stop on lap 25. Ferrari pulled him in a lap later and he controlled the race to the end.

Sainz ran third in the first stint, after briefly challenging Verstappen on the first lap, and Ferrari chose to use the 'undercut' on Red Bull.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (far right) go off track at the first corner but the stewards did not investigate this incident. (Getty Images)

Sainz pitted on lap 21, so by the time Verstappen stopped the new tyres on the Ferrari had gained the Spaniard enough time that the Red Bull came out behind.

Verstappen was unable to do anything about Sainz, and had to turn his sights to Norris.

He and team-mate Oscar Piastri had a quiet first stint, running in fourth and fifth places, lacking the pace of the Ferraris and Red Bull in front of them.

But McLaren ran their drivers long to give them a tyre advantage in the second stint.

Norris stopped six laps after Verstappen and was 6.6 seconds behind when he returned to the track.

He was on the Red Bull's tail just over 10 laps later and the two set about an engrossing battle over the next 10 laps.

Norris tracked Verstappen closely and a number of times the two ran side by side through some of the corners of the complex after Turn 12, the tight corner at the end of the long back straight.

But Verstappen positioned his car with expertise to prevent Norris being able to make a move at the hairpin at Turn 15.

On lap 52, Norris was closer than ever coming on to the back straight and he went for the outside as Verstappen defended the inside line.

Both cars ran off the track, Norris considerably, and the McLaren emerged ahead.

Verstappen immediately complained Norris had overtaken by going off the track and should give the place back.

But Norris decided to press on, arguing to his team he had been ahead at the apex.

But the stewards disagreed, and Norris was given a five-second penalty just before the end of the race. Although he had pulled away, he had not quite done enough to negate the penalty.

Sounding down, Norris told BBC Sport after the race: "That’s life. I didn’t do a good enough job."

Asked whether he should have given the place back, he said: "Maybe that was my one and only chance."

Piastri took fifth, while George Russell saved Mercedes' blushes after a difficult weekend by recovering to sixth place after starting from the pit lane because of a crash in qualifying.

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed on the second lap. "I have never spun, especially on the second lap," he said. "It’s devastating to not be in the race because I love this race."

BBC Sport and Getty Images

What's next?

The middle part of this triple header of the Americas takes us to Mexico City next weekend. This will be a standard F1 weekend with three practice sessions before qualifying and Sunday's race. After that, it will be Brazil and another sprint weekend.