Christian Horner Critiques McLaren’s Costly Decision in Lando Norris’ US GP Penalty

Christian Horner highlights a McLaren blunder that might have prevented Lando Norris's penalty. According to Red Bull, McLaren erred by not instructing Norris to let Max Verstappen reclaim his position during the United States Grand Prix.

Christian Horner, the head of Red Bull, thinks that McLaren erred by not instructing Lando Norris to relinquish his position to Max Verstappen during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

In the final moments of Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas, there was an exciting duel for the last spot on the podium between championship contenders Verstappen and Norris.

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Following numerous unsuccessful tries, Norris eventually overtook Verstappen at Turn 12 with four laps remaining. However, both drivers veered off the track and into the run-off area.

The F1 stewards imposed a five-second penalty on Norris, who chose to maintain his position on the track until the race concluded, instead of yielding the spot to Verstappen and attempting to pass the Dutch driver again.

With Norris managing to create a gap of just 4.1 seconds ahead of Verstappen, he fell to fourth place, trailing his primary competitor for the title. This allowed Verstappen to increase his lead in the championship standings by 57 points over the McLaren driver.

Red Bull's team principal, Horner, acknowledged that he might not have fully grasped the situation, but it seemed evident that a penalty was imminent.

Given the benefits McLaren had in terms of both the car and the tires during that stage of the race, it seemed he intended to relinquish the position at Turn 1.

"There was some misunderstanding in that situation. If he had returned the position right away, he likely would have been fast enough to overtake again."

Norris maintained that his decision not to promptly return the position to Verstappen was justified.

Max veered off the track while defending his position, which typically means he should surrender that position. Since I was in front, I maintained my spot because he was required to yield it back to me. That's just how the rules work, Norris stated.

"I believe my actions were justified, though I don't set the guidelines. Max performed excellently, and the race was enjoyable for both of us, featuring a strong competition. His defense was impressive, and he accomplished all that was necessary."

McLaren was furious with the F1 stewards for what they deemed an "inappropriate" involvement, while Horner believed the situation was straightforward.

He mentioned that these topics are talked about in specific sections during the briefings with different stewards, driver stewards, and the race director.

"To put it simply, the overtake happened outside the track limits. We've had that happen to us before. Actually, I believe it was here against Kimi Raikkonen back in 2017."

"It was evident to us that the move occurred outside the track boundaries. Consequently, he should have relinquished the position. His decision not to do so resulted in a penalty."

"In our view, the situation was quite clear-cut."

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