Martin Brundle furious with ‘ridiculous’ Max Verstappen after Lando Norris Mexico City GP battle

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The battle between Red Bull star Max Verstappen and McLaren title challenger Lando Norris took another twist at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen got the better of Lando Norris in qualifying, starting a position ahead of the Brit with Carlos Sainz the man on pole position.

Verstappen got the better of the Spaniard going into turn one, but a huge crash between Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon brought out the safety car, temporarily bringing the racing to a halt.

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Ferrari have the fastest car on the grid currently and it wasn’t long before Sainz re-took the lead, meaning Verstappen was suddenly in Norris’s sights.

What happened next was the latest clash between the two favourites for the F1 Drivers’ Championship.

Martin Brundle was commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1 and was left stunned by what he saw from Verstappen as he defended from the oncoming Norris.

Verstappen and Red Bull didn’t believe he was in the wrong during his battle with Norris in Austin and the stewards agreed.

On the occasion, he felt the full force of the punishments at their disposal after pushing Norris off the track at turn four, before overtaking the McLaren driver off the track going through turn seven.

Martin Brundle couldn’t believe Max Verstappen’s racing at the Mexican Grand Prix

Watching a replay back of Verstappen overtaking Norris off the track, Brundle said: “It looked as if Norris was trying to let him through but he’s thrown him off the race track!

Norris’s team radio then started and he said: “I was ahead the whole way through the corner, this guy’s dangerous! I just have to avoid a crash, it’s the same as last time mate.”

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

David Croft added: “Well, Lando Norris getting more aggressive this week but still feeling, how can he fight against Max Verstappen when Verstappen just runs him off the road, that’s Norris’s feeling there.”

Brundle commented: “We need to see that again, it looked ridiculous, to be honest from what I saw.”

Watching a replay, Croft describes the action and says: “There goes Lando Norris, he is ahead but Verstappen brakes later and then he’s ahead.”

Brundle’s verdict was exactly the same as he said: “I completely agree. It’s the next bit I think is particularly dangerous.

“Max just slid up the inside and took him off, so there has to be a penalty there for Verstappen, or hand the place back.

“Now Lando’s already got two track limits for that double incident with Max Verstappen and they count! One more and he’ll be getting a warning.

“For me, that’s unquestionably a shove. I’m sorry Max, that was outrageous.”

Max Verstappen laughed at question about Lando Norris penalty controversy

Verstappen laughed off suggestions about the controversy surrounding Norris’s penalty in Austin, but might not be so amused about the outcome of the stewards’ investigation in Mexico City.

It’s going to be hard for him or Red Bull to disagree with their decision given how far off the road he was when he went around the outside of Norris to take the position.

Verstappen was handed a 20-second penalty – 10 seconds for the incident at turn four and another 10 seconds for the overtake at turn seven – and served it as his pit stop, meaning he had to work his way through the pack to score points.

This allowed Norris to put a small dent in Verstappen’s lead in the championship, but Red Bull will be more concerned about his teammate Sergio Perez.

A false start earned him an initial penalty before battles with Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll were investigated by the stewards.

He then picked up damage and had to pit more than all of his rivals, giving him no chance of adding to his worrying points tally.