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Motorsport

Lando Norris calls out "silliest rule" in F1 after COTA track limits infringements

Lando Norris Charles Leclerc Max Verstappen the United States Grand Prix Ferrari McLaren

Lando Norris has criticised the “silliest” rule in Formula 1 after receiving multiple track limits warnings during the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas.

The McLaren driver fiercely fought with Charles Leclerc after losing second position to the Ferrari driver at Turn 1. With Leclerc putting on a strong defence, Norris eventually made the pass stick after 51 laps of back and forth between them. But in the process of the exciting on-track battle, he exceeded track limits.

While he was able to avoid a five-second penalty, Norris argued that drivers should not be handed track limits strikes when they are racing others. On one occasion, Norris noted, he had attempted to go around the outside of the Monegasque driver but failed to complete the overtake, so lost time to Leclerc and on top of that was given the track limits strike.

“I mean, the places which were easy to go off were Turn 9 over the crest of the hill, and then the last two corners. I think I was on three strikes by like lap 10. So I didn't put myself in the best position. But then one of my strikes was because I was racing," Norris explained during the post-race press conference.

"You know, I think that's one of the silliest rules that we have - we’re invited to try and race, but if you race too much, you get a penalty for it. And I got a track limits [strike] for trying to go around the outside and losing time to Charles.

Lando Norris, McLaren (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

"So, doesn't really make much sense in terms of going racing. But it definitely made my life that little bit trickier, especially Turn 19, with the wind, like Max said, it was pretty inconsistent. It’s difficult to just be always on the limit and not make mistakes — which I obviously made a couple too many of, too early on. But yeah, a little bit more cautious at the end because I knew I couldn’t afford a penalty. But I took the risks I needed to.”

Norris went on to secure second in the United States Grand Prix behind race winner and four-time champion Max Verstappen. Leclerc took the last podium position after crossing the line in third, followed by his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fourth.