Norris had been docked five seconds at the US GP for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during his battle with Verstappen. He got past the reigning world champion after running wide on the exit of turn 12.
The McLaren star felt Verstappen had pushed him off even though he was ahead at the apex. But the stewards disagreed, and punished him for failing to give the place back.
In Mexico, they battled for second rather than third, and duelled in the early stages of the race rather than the closing laps. Norris appeared to learn a lesson from Austin.
As he tried to pass Verstappen on the outside of turn four, Norris nudged ahead before the apex. The Dutchman received a 10-second penalty for pushing him onto the grass in an overly aggressive defence.
Martin Brundle called Verstappen ‘ridiculous’ after he attempted to regain the place at turn seven. He dived down the inside and ran wide, triggering another 10-second penalty when he kept the position.
Verstappen’s wheel-to-wheel tactics were at the centre of a paddock-wide debate before the race in Mexico. F1 drivers held an unusually long briefing on Friday as they discussed whether he’d exposed loopholes in the rules.
Naturally, Verstappen defended himself, telling outlets including BBC Sport that he ‘follows the rules as much as he can’. But those comments aged poorly.
Norris recalled the remarks in the post-race press conference, accusing Verstappen of failing to keep his word. He isn’t optimistic that the 27-year-old will change his approach.
“I don’t know what the wording of the penalties are and those types of things, but, yeah, I mean, he says he drives to the rules,” Norris said. “That was his main thing he said after last weekend, and today he took by going four wheels off the track. We’ll see. Max will be back next weekend and I expect just more tough battles.”
Some F1 drivers sided against Norris in the aforementioned briefing. But few will be able to defend what Verstappen did during Sunday’s race.
Indeed, it’s only really senior figures Red Bull who have argued that the penalties were harsh. This will remain one of the biggest talking points when the drivers reconvene in Brazil in a few days’ time.
Norris seemed to adopt a more cautious approach after Verstappen’s reckless moves. While he remained close to the Red Bull after lap 10, he didn’t attempt another overtake before his rival’s lap 27 pit stop.
One pundit thinks that this highlighted Norris’ ‘fear’ of Verstappen. But the 24-year-old knew that any damage would hurt him more given the 57-point deficit between the two drivers at the start of the race.
