“Direct exchanges” between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in drivers’ briefing

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris reportedly debated how to fairly defend and overtake at a “lively” drivers’ briefing in Mexico.

A hot topic at this weekend’s F1 Mexico City Grand Prix was whether Verstappen and Norris remained within the rules a week ago in Texas, when the McLaren driver was penalised by stewards.

They discussed it personally during the traditional drivers’ briefing on a Friday, Sky Sports’ Craig Slater reported.

"It was a lively drivers' meeting in Mexico City overnight and there were direct exchanges between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen about defending and overtaking,” Slater reported.

“But I’ve been told they were ‘calm’ and ‘respectful’.

"The rules of engagement and how to make them better dominated discussions. The majority view among the drivers was standards have to be improved and what is already an ongoing evaluation needs to be stepped up.

"The meeting kicked off with the drivers asking the FIA how stewards make decisions in cases like the Verstappen and Norris clash. They wanted to better understand the process.

"Interestingly, while delivering that explanation the FIA admitted it would draft some updated wordings to the racing guidelines and send that back to the drivers for review. 

“Some saw this as a kind of admission of guilt – that the current guidelines have allowed the exploitation of loopholes. The majority thought it was positive that the FIA was able to look critically at itself and implement change.

"Another point of discussion was whether the stewards are actually using all of the rules available to them in cases like the Norris-Verstappen flashpoint. 

“Some pointed out that the rule about forcing another driver off track could still apply in such cases. That even as the guidelines exist now forcing another driver off track should not be permitted. 

“In other words, there is a clear and provable distinction between holding the corner in an acceptable way and approaching a corner with the main intent to run another driver off.

"Ultimately, there is an understanding that the rules will never be perfect. The appetite is to tighten wordings and try to define the guidelines better.

"The FIA's position on driver guidelines is that they were requested by the drivers, devised by the governing body in consultation with them and ultimately signed off by the GPDA, the drivers association. They are committed to evolving them and they have undergone several updates over the past few seasons.

"As for the GPDA, its chairman Alex Wurz said: ‘We know and appreciate the stewards' work.  We know that they have a difficult role and situation. We very much appreciate that we have a good dialogue to first make the decisions more consistent, which definitely is the case, but we now collectively see that there is some more room for improvement.  No one wants over-regulation, and we want to see good racing, and the sentiment is, that with a collective push, we will improve the guidelines for next season.’”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was asked for his verdict on the debate.

Leclerc responded: “I'm not going to go too much into the detail of what's discussed inside, but we are all willing to improve some of the scenarios we have seen in Austin because I don't think we were all on the same line on that.

“However, the FIA has been very open to discussion and I think they've admitted that we've got to change a few things.

“Going forward we'll try and help them in order to take better decisions and to have tracks that maybe don't allow as much controversy as Austin does.

“Because if you've got a bit of a gravel trap or a kerb in some corners, it will make everybody's life easier, but it's the way it is.”