Martin Brundle reveals worrying race control stance on ‘inconceivable’ Lando Norris decision

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One of the biggest talking points of the United States Grand Prix was the battle between championship contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Going into the United States Grand Prix, McLaren star Lando Norris knew his chances of winning a first F1 title were slim, to say the least.

The gap to Max Verstappen was 52 points going into the race weekend and after a Sprint Race victory and a podium finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix, that gap was extended by an additional five points.

However, that doesn’t tell the whole story, with Norris barely clinging onto a podium finish in the Sprint Race himself before being penalised in his battle with Verstappen in the closing stages of the race.

Norris was handed a five-second time penalty for going off the track and gaining an advantage by overtaking Verstappen outside of the track limits.

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

While Martin Brundle was frustrated with how Norris lost the lead to begin with, the decision to penalise Norris and not Verstappen in this instance has created plenty of debate.

Brundle was writing in his column for Sky Sports and shared his thoughts on one rule the stewards implemented that he wasn’t sure he agreed with.

Not only that, Brundle then said that there wasn’t universal agreement within race control on the extent of the penalty Norris received in this instance.

Martin Brundle labels double jeopardy rule ‘inconceivable’ after Lando Norris US Grand Prix penalty

Talking about Norris and Verstappen’s battle, Brundle said: “If Russell was penalised for running Valtteri Bottas wide, shouldn’t Verstappen have been penalised for running Norris wide at the same corner?

“And here’s another question, given Norris had passed Verstappen down the outside before turn 12, when Verstappen sailed back up the inside, who was actually doing the overtaking at the corner apex, Verstappen or Norris?

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

“It’s even more complicated than that. Norris running wide was his fourth track limit indiscretion which means an automatic five-second penalty.

“It seems inconceivable to me that if a driver is forced wide that counts as a track limit strike, but I’m assured it does.

“But Norris wasn’t given an extra five-second track limits penalty because that would have been considered double jeopardy with his penalty for overtaking off-track, which he undoubtedly did.

“That wasn’t a universally agreed decision in race control.”

Why Lando Norris apologised to his fans after the United States Grand Prix

Norris would have hoped that McLaren could retain their advantage over the rest of the field over the autumn break but that no longer appears to be the case.

Ferrari may have brought some undeclared upgrades to Austin that have suddenly put them at the front of the pack.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were a long way in the distance while Norris and Verstappen were fighting behind them, which could provide another interesting twist in the Constructors’ Championship.

Norris apologised to his fans after the US Grand Prix and may be left regretting not giving the place back to Verstappen immediately to try and overtake him legitimately before the chequered flag.

Time is running out for the young Brit and he may have to concede sooner rather than later that helping McLaren win their first championship this century is now a more realistic goal.