"Damon i’m convinced it’s not!": McLaren boss Zak Brown's reply to F1 pundit calling out a lack of consistency in FIA stewarding goes viral

McLaren CEO Zak Brown agreed with F1 pundit Damon Hill's complaints about the race stewards decisions in the 2024 F1 US GP not being consistent. This was regarding Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' wheel-to-wheel battle in Austin.

At the start of the race, Norris and Verstappen went side-by-side into turn 1, which cost both of them several places. Later in the race, both drivers continued to fight each other and push forward. In the race's final stages, the McLaren driver chased the defending world champion. On Lap 52, Norris tried a late lunge round the outside at Turn 12 but went off track to overtake Verstappen.

Since Lando Norris did not give the place back to Max Verstappen after overtaking the Red Bull off the track, he received a five-second time penalty. As a result, he finished P4, while the Dutchman finished P3.

After the race, Damon Hill took to X and urged F1 to have better rules and decisions in a Grand Prix. He felt that the race stewards were not consistent enough and mentioned the two major highlights of the race, including Norris and Verstappen's first and last tussle.

"I'm not convinced the Stewarding was consistent in that race. But Lando went deep to pass and did so off track. That said, Max did not give him room on the exit and barged him off the track in turn 1 lap 1. The rules need to be better #F1," Hill wrote.

Replying to the post, McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated that he too was not convinced that the rules and decisions taken by race stewards were consistent. In the 2024 F1 US GP, Lando Norris received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining advantage, but Max Verstappen was not punished for his move on Lap 1 Turn 1.

"Damon I’m convinced it’s not!" Brown said.

His reply went extremely viral amongst F1 fans and received nearly 1,700 likes and hundreds of comments within a few hours. Many fans were unimpressed by Brown's complaints and criticized him in the comments.

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McLaren star on his tussle with Max Verstappen at the 2024 F1 US GP

McLaren driver Lando Norris shared his thoughts on the wheel-to-wheel battle with Max Verstappen at the US GP, especially during the latter stages of the race.

Speaking to F1.com, Norris said that he did not give up the place to the Red Bull star after overtaking because he thought it was fair. Even after the race, he believes that he is in the right. The British driver explained that since Verstappen himself was off-track, he needed to give up the place.

“I mean clearly I didn’t give the position back because we thought we were in the right – clearly we weren’t. I still think we were, considering Max went off the track – normally if you defend your position and you go off the track, you have to give the position up. In that case I was ahead, I kept my position because he needed to give it back, and that’s the way it is. I think I did the correct thing, but I don’t make the rules," McLaren star said.

As of now, Max Verstappen continues to lead the 2024 F1 drivers' championship table with 354 points, while Lando Norris is chasing the Dutchman from second place with 297 points.