Lewis Hamilton has accused Max Verstappen of “getting away with it for so long” after the Red Bull star got the better of Lando Norris in a controversial incident during the United States Grand Prix. In an epic battle for third place and crucial Championship points, Norris was given a five-second penalty and ultimately lost his place on the podium to Verstappen.
Stewards deemed that Norris had “lost the right” to an overtake on the Turn 12 corner. That is because he did not satisfy guidelines that state a car overtaking on the outside must “have the front axle at least alongside with the front axle of the other car at the apex of the corner and to the exit”.
Both drivers went off the track but it was ruled that Norris had been in the wrong. Mercedes ace Hamilton believes there are “grey areas” in the rules from which Verstappen is benefitting. He has also called for more consistent officiating.
“It’s always been a grey area,” the 39-year-old said. “That’s why he’s got away with it for so long.
“They probably need to make some adjustments, for sure. Also, you do have inconsistencies on rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which stewards are there.
“As a sport, we do need to level up on all areas. You look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max. You shouldn’t be able to just launch the car up the inside and be ahead and then go off, and still hold the position.”
Hamilton pointed out that he shared similar battles with Hamilton as far back as 2021, citing that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
“It’s interesting people are talking about it now because the same thing happened to me in 2021,” said Hamilton.
“If you take Brazil into account, for example, under braking you’re ahead but then the car [on the inside] just comes off the brakes and doesn’t make the corner and you have to go wide. Then they’ll say you both went wide but you had no choice because you had to avoid a collision.
“There definitely has to be something done about it because it’s happening a lot now. You shouldn’t be able to come off the brakes, run more speed in, go off track and still hold your place.”
Norris still believes Verstappen was at fault over the incident. McLaren have launched a right of review challenge which will be heard this morning.
The 24-year-old said: “I think the fact of getting off your brakes to achieve just the ruling of being ahead at apex no matter how wide you run on the exit, is incorrect and I don’t think that’s how racing should be.”
