Max Verstappen chose not to delve into details after a tense on-track battle with Lando Norris at the United States Grand Prix, which ultimately saw the McLaren driver penalized and Verstappen promoted back to P3.
In the closing laps, the two championship contenders went head-to-head, with Norris on fresher tires finally overtaking Verstappen at Turn 12. However, the move saw both drivers go off the track, and Norris was hit with a five-second time penalty for failing to return the position. This demotion handed Verstappen back the third-place finish despite crossing the line four seconds behind.
Speaking with Jenson Button after the race, Verstappen acknowledged the challenge but didn’t go into detail about the controversial moment. “It was a difficult race, I never had the pace to attack,” Verstappen admitted. “I had a lot of understeer and struggled with the brakes. It made defending quite difficult because if someone went for a move, I couldn’t brake that late. It was a tough battle, and I tried everything to keep [Norris] behind.”
When Button pressed Verstappen on the specifics of the Turn 12 incident, noting that Verstappen also appeared to go off track, the Dutchman remained cryptic. “I have my opinion, but I don’t need to say it here, I’ll let the stewards do their thing,” he replied, leaving the controversy to simmer.
With the penalty costing Norris a podium finish, the clash has added yet another layer of drama to the already heated Drivers’ Championship fight.
