Heading into the race, the conversation was still on the incident between the two drivers at the United States Grand Prix, where Norris was controversially handed a 10-second time penalty after he passed Verstappen off the track at turn 12.
McLaren tried to claim that Norris was ahead of the Red Bull heading into the corner, but the team ultimately had their appeal rejected by the stewards. Karun Chandhok saw through a new camera angle that Norris was not fully ahead of Verstappen and that the Dutchman was aware of the regulations that allowed him to race to the apex without receiving a penalty.
At the Mexico City Grand Prix, it was a completely different story. Verstappen took the lead off the start, but a brilliant divebomb from Carlos Sainz at turn one gave the Ferrari his advantage back.
On lap 10, Norris attempted to pass Verstappen going into turn four, but the McLaren was forced onto the grass by the Red Bull, coming back onto the track ahead in second.
At turn 10, Verstappen lunged down the inside and ran both drivers off the circuit, overtaking Norris but losing a position to Charles Leclerc, handing Ferrari another one-two lead.
Verstappen was handed a 20-second time penalty – 10 seconds for each incident – and was left towards the back of the field when he served his punishment in the pits. Martin Brundle was left furious by Verstappen’s ‘ridiculous’ actions, labelling them as ‘particularly dangerous.’
The Dutchman was able to make a recovery and finish the race sixth, but for many fans, the damage was already done. Damon Hill said Verstappen is ‘losing respect’ due to his driving in Mexico City.
Christian Horner will not appeal the decision against Verstappen even after publicly protesting the severity of the penalty. After the race, the 27-year-old was speaking with Canal+ about the incidents.
During the interview, Verstappen was asked about what he would change about his driving style, as the journalist said: “A big penalty like that – will that change your way of driving maybe?”
And the three-time champion gave a blunt response as he said nothing would change, but joked that may need some refreshment in the cockpit as he serves a long penalty.
“No, but next time I’ll make sure that I have a drink in the pit stop!” he said.
Mexico City proved to be a difficult weekend for Red Bull, as Verstappen could only manage sixth after serving his penalty, while Sergio Perez had a torrid weekend. The Mexican was eliminated from Q1 and finished last of the classified drivers in the race.
The result sees Red Bull slip to third in the constructors’ standings behind Ferrari after the Maranello squad scored another double podium. The Milton Keynes-based squad are now 54 points behind the leaders McLaren with four rounds to go.
While many fans and pundits were left unimpressed by Verstappen’s driving, Jos Verstappen said the Red Bull is not good enough and that the Dutchman must drive this way to stay competitive with his rivals.
Norris has cut Verstappen’s lead down to 47 points with four Grand Prix and two Sprint races to go. The McLaren driver will need another penalty and a poor result from the Red Bull driver if he is to get close enough to realistically challenge for the title.
