Max Verstappen’s pole position in Japan was in doubt after he was called to the stewards for an incident with Lando Norris in the third round of qualifying in Japan.
In his first appearances on the track during Q3, while preparing his fastest lap, the McLaren driver approached the champion who, wanting to accelerate to warm up his tires, suffered from a lack of tire temperature and was about to spin.
The Briton had to dodge him by going off the track, and the Japanese GP stewards summoned both of them to explain what had happened. Speaking to the media ahead of his visit to race control room, Norris was confident that Verstappen deserved a penalty.
“It’s pretty clear,” he said when asked if his rival was trying to stop him from overtaking. “There was no risk on my part, while what he did was quite dangerous. He tried not to let me pass, but with the speed we were driving we risked having a big accident. We were lucky.”
“People always overtake before the last corner, as much as everyone always agrees not to. Everyone does,” Norris told Sky Sports .
“He would have done the same if he was in my situation, but I wouldn’t have moved towards him if I was in his situation,” he said, maintaining Verstappen’s move was deliberate. And when asked if he was expecting a sanction, he answered firmly: “Oh yes, sure.”
Video: Verstappen-Norris maneuver in Japanese GP qualifying
Despite the investigation for an alleged infringement of article 33.4 of the sporting regulations, which establishes that you cannot drive erratically, Verstappen only suffered a reprimand and maintains pole position (read the stewards’ sentence at the link).
Prior to the decision, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner defended his charge and denied that he was trying to block Norris, noting that “they had been following each other around the circuit up to that point”.
“I don’t think he was trying to block Lando [Norris], I just don’t think he was expecting someone on an out lap at that point near the chicane,” he said. “He was warming up his tires, getting ready to open his lap. They always start doing it there.”
For his part, Verstappen quickly stood parallel to Norris after the incident to ask for forgiveness on the track, but later told the media that it was McLaren’s fault for having skipped the so-called ‘ Gentleman’s Agreement ‘ not to overtake in the laps. of preparation in classification.
Finally, Verstappen only received a reprimand (the first of the season) and will come out on top ready to mathematically seal the title this Sunday.
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