Lando Norris’s hopes of capitalizing on his pole position at the 2024 United States Grand Prix were dashed early on, as a fierce battle with Max Verstappen at Turn 1 left the McLaren driver livid. After a mediocre Sprint on Saturday, the Brit was looking to make gains in the main race, but his lead slipped away when Verstappen made an aggressive move into the first corner, resulting in a close call that pushed both drivers off the track.
Norris, furious with the Dutchman’s actions, didn’t mince words, accusing Verstappen of intentionally pushing him off the circuit in what he described as a reckless maneuver.
“He clearly pushed me off. He had no intent to make the corner. And he himself went off the track,” Norris fumed over the team radio.
The incident occurred immediately after the lights went out, with Norris leading from pole but soon coming under pressure from Verstappen, who lunged down the inside at Turn 1. Both drivers ran wide, which allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to close in. This marked a significant blow for Norris, who had been hoping to build a gap early in the race.
The Austin track has not been kind to pole-sitters in recent years, with only one driver in the last six editions of the race managing to convert pole into victory. Norris, it seems, fell victim to this trend, with Verstappen’s aggressive move shaking up the order early on.
Adding fuel to the fire, McLaren boss Zak Brown was quick to criticize the reigning champion’s actions, comparing them to a similar incident that saw McLaren’s Oscar Piastri penalized during the Sprint.
“It’s the exact penalty that Oscar got yesterday,” Brown stated, calling for the stewards to take action against Verstappen.
With the race underway, Norris found himself dropping down the order, battling to keep pace with Ferrari’s blistering SF-24s, while Verstappen’s reliability issues added a layer of intrigue to the race. As the two rivals continued to fight for championship points, Norris remained hopeful that Verstappen’s struggles with the RB20’s performance could offer him a chance to regain lost ground during the pitstop phase.
The drama at the Circuit of the Americas is far from over, with fans eagerly awaiting the stewards’ decision on the Turn 1 incident and Norris’s hopes for a podium finish hanging in the balance.
