Max Verstappen’s 20 seconds of penalties in the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix, explained

A week ago in the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, the season’s latest on-track tussle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen ended with the McLaren driver hit with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. That penalty dropped Norris into fourth and bumped Verstappen up into third, allowing the Red Bull driver to extend his lead over Norris in the Drivers’ Championship race.

As luck would have it, the two tangled again Sunday in Mexico City, only this time it was Verstappen who drew the wrath of race officials, to the tune of a pair of ten-second penalties that ended any chance Verstappen had of a return to the podium.

The incident in question occurred during the early stages of the race, as Norris and Verstappen were battling for second behind pole-sitter Carlos Sainz Jr. You can see a portion of their battle here:

Race officials immediately noted that the exchange between the two drives was under investigation, and then a pair of two ten-second penalties were handed down to Verstappen. One penalty was for forcing Norris off the track at Turn 4, the other for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 8.

Concerning the Turn 4 incident not only did race officials issue the ten-second penalty during the race, but they added two penalty points to Verstappen’s Super License as well.

“Norris was attempting to overtake on the outside of Verstappen at Turn 4. Norris was ahead of Verstappen at the entry, apex and towards the exit of the turn when he started being forced off the track,” wrote race officials. “The Stewards believe that the maneuver was done in a safe and controlled manner and that Norris would have been able to make the

maneuver on the track had he not been forced off the track by Verstappen. Norris cut the corner but immediately gave the position he gained as a result back to Sainz.”

Regarding the Turn 8 incident, race stewards stated that having reviewed all available video evidence, they were issuing a penalty. “Following the incident in Turn 4, Verstappen attempted to pass Norris on the inside at

Turn 8. Verstappen was ahead at the apex of Turn 8 and would have been entitled to racing room. However, he was not able to complete the maneuver on the track, left the track, and kept the lasting advantage gaining the position, incidentally forcing Norris off the track.”

After the race, Verstappen conceded that the 20-second penalty was “very long:”

Key figures at McLaren raised questions about Verstappen’s driving.

“I didn’t want to expect such a thing, because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was ready to expect something like this,” said Norris trackside after the race. “This is not very clean driving, in my opinion. But I avoided it and it was a good race.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown called the driving “ridiculous” after the race.

“It’s getting a bit ridiculous,” Brown told Sky Sports. “I applaud the stewards. Enough is enough. Let’s just have some good, clean racing moving forward.

“I think the stewards are on it. I think that’s clear by the penalties that they assessed,” added Brown. “So I don’t think we need to do anything. Just let the stewards do their job. They did a good job this weekend.”

With Sunday’s results, not only did Red Bull drop to third in the Constructors’ Championship, but Verstappen saw Norris inch a few points closer to him in the Drivers’ Championship. With four race weekends remaining — including a pair of F1 Sprint Races — Norris remains in contention for that title.

And you can expect that every race decision going forward will be scrutinized as a result.