PA Media/DPA
Austin (Texas)
Max Verstappen has hit back at McLaren’s criticism of his defensive tactics in Sunday’s US Grand Prix by accusing the British team of “complaining a lot lately.”
Verstappen extended his title lead over Lando Norris to 57 points after the McLaren man was demoted to fourth - one place behind Verstappen - following a five-second penalty for passing his championship rival off the track in the closing stages.
Charles Leclerc won the United States Grand Prix thanks to a sensational start ahead of Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari while Verstappen took third.
Norris accused the stewards of rushing their decision and said Verstappen’s aggressive move to defend his third place left him with nowhere to go.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella added: “The defending car goes just straight at the apex. We have checked the video multiple times.
It is just going straight and off the track as much as Lando is doing, giving Lando no chance to compete the manoeuvre.
“How many times has Max used this way to defend? Both cars go off track and both cars are gaining an advantage. If there is an advantage gained, it was at least neutral.”
In the build-up to Sunday’s race, McLaren chief executive officer Zak Brown said he still believes Red Bull has a case to answer about the discovery of a contentious device which it has been claimed allows them to adjust the setup of the car between qualifying and the race - something that is not prohibited in the sport’s rules.
Red Bull have admitted the device exists but said it is inaccessible when the car is built. They have agreed to make changes to their car and F1’s governing body, the FIA have since said the case is closed.
Responding to Stella’s comments, Verstappen said: “They complain a lot lately. But it is very clear and it is in the rules. If you are outside the white line you cannot pass and I’ve been penalised for that in the past, too.” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised the stewards for handing down what he perceived to be the correct verdict.
“It was crystal clear that the pass had been made off the track so Lando should have given the place back,” said Horner.
“He chose not to so therefore there was a penalty and for us it was very much a black and white scenario. It was a slam-dunk. You want the right people on the podium. The stewards dealt with it pretty rapidly and decently.” Norris called the decision a “momentum killer” in his bid to take a maiden crown.
The round in America was the first since July’s Belgian Grand Prix - a run of four races - where Verstappen has finished ahead of Norris.
The British driver will now head to this weekend’s race in Mexico City knowing there are just 146 points still available.
Horner added: “Look, there are five races to go and with a 57-point lead nothing is ever comfortable. But this is the first time we’ve outscored Lando since Spa so it was important for us to get off the backfoot and more on to the front foot.”
Ferrari delight
Leclerc was meanwhile delighted, saying: “Really happy with today. One-two for the team. We couldn’t have dreamt for better.”
“It hasn’t been an easy weekend until now I have been struggling with the feeling with the car but I had confidence that the race the feeling would be better and it was the case.”
Norris had claimed pole position with a little luck as Verstappen could not properly complete his final fast lap due to a crash by Mercedes driver George Russell and started from second.
The crash meant that Russell had to start from the pit lane because Mercedes needed longer than allowed to fix the car.
He recovered to finish sixth on a bad weekend for the team which saw five-time race winner Lewis Hamilton only 17th on the grid and then having to retire in lap two after spinning out in the same turn as Russell the previous day.
How the race unfolded Norris appeared to have won the start but Verstappen sneaked through on the inside but neither seemingly paid attention to Leclerc who sensationally shot into the lead from fourth on the grid.
Sainz also got past Norris and then battled with Verstappen for second which however was put on hold in lap two whe the safety car came out after Hamilton’s shunt.
Verstappen tried to put Leclerc under pressure on the restart but the Ferrari was simply too quick and Leclerc was 11 seconds clear in front once Verstappen pitted in lap 25.
He returned behind Sainz who had pitted earlier while Norris was the last of the top contenders to pit in lap 32 and with fresh tyres aimed to have the better end.
He was in Verstappen’s slipstream with 12 laps left and did get ahead after several previous attempts but the stewards had other ideas, although Verstappen had also defended himself robustly and left the track as well.
Up front, Ferrari celebrated their second win in Austin, the other coming from Kimi Raikkonen in 2018, from Leclerc.
Also impressive was Visa RB’s new driver Liam Lawson who came ninth in his first race since replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull’s sister team which he had started from the pit lane.
