Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has backed the United States Grand Prix stewards over the penalty given to McLaren’s Lando Norris after his battle with Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen, calling it a «black-and-white» case.
Norris was fighting for the final podium position at the Circuit of the Americas when he made an overtake around the outside at Turn 12, which Verstappen defended robustly and, with both cars leaving the circuit and continuing, the British driver kept hold of the position.
McLaren expected Verstappen to be on the receiving end of an investigation for forcing its driver off-track when defending, much like Mercedes’ George Russell had been earlier in the race in battle with Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber, but the stewards instead decided Norris was the one at fault and handed him a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The Woking-based outfit condemned the decision that reversed placings in the final results and saw Verstappen extend his lead to 57 points in the title race, while Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff suggested ‘bias’ in the decision-making.
But Horner has insisted the call was the correct one, explaining: «The racing between the two of them was competitive and great to watch and obviously, all the drivers know acutely what the rules are. They discuss these issues and particular corners in the briefings with the various stewards and driver stewards and race directors.
«The pass was made off-track. We’ve been on the receiving end of that, in fact here, I think against Kimi, 2018 [2017, when Verstappen was penalised and lost third place to Raikkonen]. So for us, it was crystal clear that the pass had been made off the track, so he should have given the place back. He chose not to so therefore there was a penalty. So for us, it was very much a black-and-white scenario.»
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, battle into turn 1
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
On the perceived inconsistency of stewarding across the weekend, in particular, with Russell and Yuki Tsunoda both penalised when on the inside of the corner for pushing rivals wide, Horner replied: «I think it’s very difficult for the stewards and every incident is different, so you have to look at every incident individually.
«When you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s not nice. As I say, we’ve been on the receiving end of it numerous times, not just at this track, but at other tracks. So they all know what’s at stake.
«What I perhaps didn’t understand was: it was clear there was going to be a penalty, or it looked pretty clear there was going to be a penalty, with the car advantage and tyre advantage that McLaren had at that point of the race. It looked like he went to give the place back up at Turn 1, but there was some confusion there. If he’d given the place back immediately, he probably would have had enough pace to make the pass.»
Verstappen had also pushed Norris wide at the first corner of the race in a move that allowed eventual race winner Charles Leclerc to scamper up the inside and into the lead.
That incident was dismissed despite bearing resemblance to the move that earned the Dutchman a penalty at the Las Vegas GP last season when fighting Leclerc on lap one, but Horner insisted: «We discussed this many, many times, it goes back to Niki Lauda making an impassioned plea to Charlie Whiting of just let them race.
«It was agreed then, for the first lap it used to be, now it’s very much the first corner, let them race and that was a classic case of that and they all know that.»
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 battle into the first corner, followed by Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Given the gravity of the decision in the battle between both for the drivers’ title — and with Norris’s belief the verdict was rushed — Horner was asked whether he felt the stewards could have held a hearing post-race.
«I think it was a slam dunk and the problem is, again, we then have the arguments of you want the right people on the podium,» explained Horner.
«So you have this… It happened so many times that I actually think the stewards dealt with it pretty rapidly and decently.»