"What a f***ing joke": Fans furious at Lando Norris getting a penalty in the incident with Max Verstappen

Lando Norris incurred a five-second time penalty following his on-track battle with Max Verstappen during the United States Grand Prix. The penalty thwarted Norris' effort throughout the latter half of the race and put him in P4. As fans witnessed this, some slammed the FIA on social media, and called the stewards a "bunch of clowns."

Lap 52 of 56 of the Circuit of The Americas race saw Verstappen and Norris go wheel-to-wheel. In doing so, Verstappen went deep into a corner to defend his place from Norris. As a result, he pushed the McLaren driver very wide from the track.

Norris, despite going wide, turned his MCL38 quickly towards the track and overtook Verstappen. Deeming this unfair, Red Bull immediately put its complaint to the stewards and demanded the place back.

The stewards, after a thorough check, punished Norris with a five-second time penalty for going off the track and exceeding the track limits. Some fans were clearly not happy with the verdict as they slammed the governing body on social media.

Below are some reactions taken from micro-blogging site X:

A fan wrote on the penalty, "Verstappen drives Norris off the track 5 second penalty for Norris. What a f***ing joke."

"The FIA not only let Max Verstappen get away with pushing him off the track TWICE but didn't hesitate to penalize lando norris with 5 seconds. bunch of clowns," another fan wrote.

"Rubbish again #F1, Verstappen running so wide defending he is off track and gets Norris penalised?," another fan asked the FIA the reason behind the penalty.

"Clearly pushed Norris off-track and took himself off-track as well. No way this is a penalty for Norris. #AustinGP," wrote another fan, disagreeing with the penalty.

A fan wrote that Norris' pass on Verstappen was a valid one, "Verstappen also miles out of the track limits / forcing Lando out. This is legit pass, no penalty for Norris. #USGP."

"When Verstappen went off track on lap 1 to overtake Norris, pushing both him and Lando off track, he got no penalty. When Verstappen pushed Norris off track on lap 52 to re-overtake Norris in the braking zone, again pushing both drivers off track, Norris got a penalty. How," wrote a fan, comparing the Lap 1 incident with Lap 52.

While a section of fans were complaining against the FIA's verdict, there also seemed to be confusion about the penalty and the interpretation of its exact reason.

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Lando Norris praised Max Verstappen following the United States GP

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing leads Lando Norris of McLaren. Source: Getty

While some fans might not be entirely happy with the outcome, Lando Norris feels differently. The McLaren driver, following the conclusion of the United States Grand Prix, praised Max Verstappen and his driving capability.

"He defends by going off track and overtakes by going off track, but I'm not going to complain, he (Verstappen) defended well and drove well," Norris said.

Thanks to the penalty, Verstappen was able to extend his championship gap over Norris further to 57 points, with five races, and two Sprints to go.