McLaren’s Lando Norris has been cleared by the FIA of any wrongdoing in his last-lap battle with Charles Leclerc in the Austin sprint race, having been accused of moving under braking.
The Briton had been under investigation by the stewards at Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix for potentially erratic driving.
He had been battling with Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Leclerc for a podium position in the closing stages of the race, as his tyres faded.
Having lost second place to Sainz after the first corner on the last lap when he locked up and ran wide, Norris then had a fight on his hands to keep hold of third place from Leclerc.
His Monegasque rival tried to make a move up the inside through the complex at Turns 14 and 15, but aborted after Norris firmly shut the door on him. After getting his car back under control, Leclerc came on the team radio to accuse Norris of having moved under braking.
Leclerc dropped back from there, meaning that Norris eventually came home in third – two places behind his title rival Max Verstappen.
But shortly after the race, the FIA announced that Norris was under investigation for potentially erratic driving on the final lap.
Norris himself said he did not know what the issue was, because that sequence of corners involves the need to brake while turning through the corner.
Asked for his response to the FIA investigation, Norris said: “I don’t know where….oh the one where you have to turn and brake the whole way around?
“I mean, you brake in the corner. So, it makes sense.”
Following a review of video and data evidence, the stewards concluded that there was nothing wrong with what Norris did in that sequence – so saw no need to take the matter further.
A statement issued after its hearing said: “There did not appear to be any significant changes of direction under braking, and the move at Turn 15 was a legitimate defending move by the driver of Car 4. In Turn 1, Car 4 locked up under braking and went wide, losing a position.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
No Ferrari fight
While Norris had appeared to be Verstappen’s main challenger early on in the sprint, he said that ultimately he had no chance of gunning for the lead nor holding back Ferrari.
“I didn’t think I would ever be able to get Max,” said Norris. “We’ve been struggling a bit all weekend, so my chances of getting Max were tough. But I did the best I could to manage my tyres and things like that.
“At the end of the race, the Ferraris were another level compared to us, so I did my best to try and hold on – but there was pretty much zero chance I would ever hold on to second place today.”
Norris felt that the sprint race form had confirmed that McLaren was not as quick as it wanted to be at the Austin track.
“We’ve put up a good fight, but we just don’t have the pace this weekend,” he said.
“So yeah, maybe some changes to make into qualifying and then for the race tomorrow. I think maybe similar [pace] to Max, but for the Ferraris, we’re quite a chunk behind.”
