Martin Brundle notices ‘extreme’ Lando Norris tactic in Charles Leclerc battle at US Grand Prix

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Lando Norris understands the value of every point at this stage of the season. He came into the US Grand Prix trying to close a 52-point gap to Max Verstappen.

That meant he needed to gain, on average, nine points per weekend until the end of the season. But Verstappen was able to extend his advantage in Saturday’s running.

The Dutchman took pole for the Sprint race, his first of any description since the Austrian GP in June. Norris was only fourth on the grid.

Norris has struggled with race starts this year but gained two places at turn one here, passing George Russell and Charles Leclerc. But it soon became clear that he wasn’t fast enough to challenge Verstappen and instead had to try and hold on.

Carlos Sainz, who prevailed in a prolonged intra-team battle with Leclerc, got past him on the final lap when he locked up into turn one. He was able to fend off the Monegasque’s attack, but not without controversy.

Norris’ third-place finish allows Verstappen to nudge his lead up to 54 points. There are two Sprints remaining this year – the first in Sao Paulo and the second in Qatar.

Lando Norris used ‘pretty unorthodox’ strategy to keep Charles Leclerc behind at US Grand Prix

Leclerc complained about ‘moving under braking’ after almost hitting Norris. He was right on the gearbox of the McLaren heading into turn 15.

Speaking live on Sky Sports F1, pundit Martin Brundle noted that Norris had taken an unusually tight line to prevent the Ferrari passing him on the inside. Leclerc wasn’t expecting it, and he slid off the track after slamming his brakes.

The incident was noted by race control following Leclerc’s radio message. But Brundle felt it was fair racing.

“I didn’t see him moving,” he said. “I saw him braking extremely early. He wanted to cover the inside line so he didn’t get lunged by the Ferrari. He had to reduce speed to do that. He almost caught Charles Leclerc out. It was pretty unorthodox. I know what he was trying to do.”

Anthony Davidson doesn’t know what’s ‘going on’ after watching Lando Norris onboard footage

McLaren have brought a series of upgrades to the Circuit of the Americas. They have outclassed their rivals in the development race this year but, after just one hour of practice, they couldn’t generate an immediate improvement from their new parts.

Norris is driving a faster car than Piastri, who was made to wait to use their new front wing. After a shock SQ1 exit, the Australian could only manage 10th on Saturday.

Anthony Davidson was surprised by McLaren’s handling issues as he watched the onboard footage. He didn’t know what was ‘going on’ at turn one in particular as Norris repeatedly wrestled with his MCL38.

Andrea Stella and Zak Brown have maintained that they don’t have a dominant car despite the commanding nature of some recent victories. Norris won by more than 20 seconds in the Netherlands and Singapore.