Max Verstappen hits out at McLaren for ‘complaining a lot lately’ after Lando Norris penalty

Max Verstappen has hit out at McLaren for ‘complaining a lot lately’ following Lando Norris’ penalty at the United States Grand Prix.

Norris was hit with a five-second time penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining an advantage’ during his battle with Verstappen.

The McLaren driver attempted to overtake Verstappen into Turn 12 - the braking zone after the DRS straight.

Both drivers went off the track after Verstappen broke later into the corner - but Norris gained the position.

The stewards deemed that Norris did so illegally and thus was handed a penalty.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella was frustrated with the situation afterwards, stating it was “inappropriate” for the stewards to get involved with the battle between the two F1 title protagonists.

Giving his view on things, Verstappen felt it’s “very clear in the rules” and that McLaren “complain about a lot lately”.

“No. I don’t. They complain about a lot lately anyway,” he said in the FIA press conference in Austin.

“It’s very clear in the rules. Outside the white line you can’t pass. I’ve been done for it as well in the past.”

Reflecting on the battle with Norris, he added:  “I just tried to do the best I could. The balance wasn’t great. I was not able to attack the corners. He was putting a lot of pressure. Around here, it’s quite a good track to defend. There’s a lot of possibilities. It makes it good for racing.

“I think it’s quite clear you can’t overtake out of the white line. I got done for it in 2017 or whatever it was so I lost my podium like that. I was just remaining calm,  do the best I could after that to bring the car until the end. It wasn’t easy with the tyres and situation I was in. Overall, I still really enjoyed that battle we had.”

Verstappen finished a distant third as the Ferrari’s secured their third 1-2 finish of the year.

The three-time world champion conceded Red Bull had gone backwards relative to the sprint.

“I think today wasn’t the best race for us compared to yesterday for example,” he explained.

“Just struggling for balance, for grip. Couldn’t really brake, rotate the car. Quite quickly onwards I realised we’re not going to win the race. Just tried to do my own race.

“I think we did the best strategy we could as a team. It was just surviving until the end. Lando arrived. We had some good battles. It was a lot of fun. Overall, it was still quite a tough race for me.”