Photo: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Norris vs. Verstappen: How Strategy and Penalties Shaped the Race Outcome
Eliška Ryšánková
News.GP journalist who’s all about the thrilling worlds of MotoGP and Formula 1.
In a thrilling race that kept fans on the edge of their seats, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen found themselves locked in a fierce battle for position. With Verstappen's aggressive tactics and critical clashes impacting Norris's strategy, the outcome hinged on tire performance and race penalties. This analysis explores how their intense rivalry shaped the race and what could have been different without the key moments that unfolded on track.
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Sainz’s overtake on lap 9, which took him into the lead, started a chain reaction. Verstappen’s interference with Lando Norris’s race ultimately prevented McLaren from putting Sainz under pressure. The battles between Verstappen and Norris at Turns 4 and 8 kept Norris stuck behind the Red Bull for the first stint.
Despite Verstappen receiving two 10-second penalties, Norris was still affected by Red Bull’s pace. Verstappen had clocked an impressive lap to qualify second, but during the race, the Red Bull couldn’t match the McLaren’s speed. “Whether you agree with the penalties or not, they were given,” Verstappen said. “But my biggest issue wasn’t the penalties; it was our lack of pace. We struggled with tire performance and couldn’t attack... It never felt right, and I knew it would be tough to keep Ferrari and McLaren behind us.” After Verstappen passed Norris off-track at Turn 8, which allowed Charles Leclerc to slip by, Norris focused on avoiding trouble, as he was fully aware that a DNF would jeopardize his title hopes.
As a result, in the 17 laps before Verstappen pitted, Norris fell 12.5 seconds behind Sainz. Staying out an additional four laps deepened the deficit to 15 seconds since Sainz was kinder to his tires than Norris, who was behind Verstappen. Once Norris switched to the hard tires, he felt his McLaren come alive. Sainz and Leclerc reacted by also pitting on the following laps, and when they returned, Norris had cut his gap to Sainz to just 13 seconds, with Leclerc 4.7 seconds ahead of him. Norris’s out lap was 0.8 seconds faster than Leclerc’s and matched Sainz’s. On the hard tire, Norris managed to consistently be faster than Sainz by 0.2 seconds. During this part of the race, Norris aimed to balance pace with tire wear so he could maintain grip while closing the gap to the Ferraris.
By lap 60, Norris was within DRS range of Leclerc, easily passing him a couple of laps later when Leclerc went wide in the last turn. With nine laps remaining, Norris was 8.5 seconds behind Sainz but couldn’t close the gap further before the finish.
Without that 15-second deficit from Verstappen’s move, the race might have unfolded very differently for Norris.
