"The same thing happened to me in 2021"- Lewis Hamilton questions racing rules of engagement as Max Verstappen-Lando Norris's incident splits opinions

Lewis Hamilton this week shared his take on the rules of engagement while racing, following Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' battle in the 2024 F1 US GP last weekend.

At the start of the 2024 US GP, Verstappen and Norris lost several spots after going side by side into turn 1. In the last stages of the race, as the McLaren driver was chasing the current world champion, at turn 12 on Lap 52 he tried to lunge around the outside of the Red Bull but lost control and went off-track along with Verstappen. In the process, he managed to overtake the Dutchman.

Because Norris had no choice but to leave the track and pass Verstappen in the wheel-to-wheel battle, the race officials gave him a five-second penalty instead of the usual 10-second one.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton gave his take on the matter. He recalled how something similar happened to him in the 2021 Brazilian GP when he battled hard with Max Verstappen and both drivers went off-track.

He then raised concern over the tactic of one driver releasing the brakes and creating an awkward situation for both racers. Hamilton said,

"It's interesting people are talking about it now because the same thing happened to me in 2021. 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."

Coming into the 2024 F1 Mexican GP, McLaren has petitioned for a right to review Lando Norris' penalty in the US GP. The FIA could thus once again look into the incident between the British driver and Max Verstappen.

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Max Verstappen denied breaching racing rules of engagement during his duel with Lando Norris

Max Verstappen recently denied that he gamed the racing rulebook during his battle with Lando Norris in Austin.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Red Bull driver said that he always tries to make the corner and said he wasn't looking for a "shortcut." Verstappen said,

"It's quite impressive that people can read my mind. I always try to make the corner. I didn't want to look for a shortcut. I don't even know what to answer to these people."

As of now, Max Verstappen leads the drivers' championship with 354 points, while Lando Norris is chasing the defending world champion from second place with 297 points.