Karun Chandhok makes F1 rule suggestion after Max Verstappen ‘pushed the boundaries’ in US Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen was at the centre of controversy at the end of the US Grand Prix when he defended his podium from Lando Norris.

The McLaren driver was piling pressure on Verstappen after the team decided to keep him out for a late pit stop to use the tyre offset against the Red Bull, which pitted earlier.

Verstappen could be heard complaining over team radio that the hard tyre was not giving him the grip he desired, while Norris could use the full potential of his McLaren on the same tyre to close him down.

After getting a good run out of Turn 11, the Briton went side-by-side into Turn 12. Verstappen chose the inside line and ran Norris wide off the track, but the McLaren driver rejoined ahead.

The stewards investigated the move and deemed Norris had gained an unfair advantage by completing the overtake off-track, and issued him with a five-second time penalty.

Andrea Stella said it was ‘inappropriate’ for the stewards to intervene, while Karun Chandhok has made a rule suggestion on social media website X (formerly Twitter).

Karun Chandhok makes F1 rule suggestion after Lando Norris penalty

There was a lot of debate after the incident over who had the right to the corner and whether Verstappen, by forcing Norris off, had also committed an offence.

The racing guidelines make no reference to another driver being ran wide in this scenario, and rely on who was ahead at the apex. The stewards deemed it was Verstappen, therefore he had the right to the corner.

Chandhok thinks it should be tweaked to take into account a driver on the outside of a corner.

“IMO if the driver on the outside is more than 75% alongside – as Lando was – then they should be entitled to one cars-width on the exit of the corner, but currently that is not in the rules,” said Chandhok.

“The way the current rules are, Max pushed the boundaries but he’s allowed to. If there was gravel or a wall along the outside of the kerb, then Lando wouldn’t have tried to hang on for so long out there.

“Fundamentally, he overtook another car while off track and should have given the place back straight away.”

McLaren told it was ‘pretty clear’ how to handle Lando Norris penalty

Norris was originally set for a 10-second time penalty due to the nature of his offence, but the stewards reduced it to five seconds because they felt he had nowhere else to go on track.

McLaren originally argued that he was ahead at the apex heading into the corner, but replays show Verstappen had the upper hand.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Peter Windsor believes McLaren should have instructed Norris to give the position back to Verstappen, then avoid any chance of a penalty given there was a handful of laps left.

Norris also said he should have given it back over team radio on the cool-down lap, as he ended up dropping behind the Red Bull driver in the overall classification in fourth.