‘I Couldn’t Believe My Eyes’: Max Verstappen Claims Lando Norris Incident Compromised His Pole Bid in Mexico City Qualifying

Max Verstappen was on an almighty push lap in his final Q3 run during the Mexico City GP qualifying and looked set to steal the pole position away from Lewis Hamilton in the dying moments. However, as he came out of Turn 12, the Dutch driver had to deal with unexpected traffic, which derailed his entire momentum.

Recalling the scenes he encountered on his final push lap of qualifying, Verstappen detailed, “I arrived to Turn 12, and then I picked up dirty air because they were driving so slow. So, I already lost a bit of time there.” The Dutchman added: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him (Lando Norris).”

Seeing the No. 1 McLaren on the right side of the track, Verstappen lost his braking reference and had to enter at a different angle to his braking point at a very tight corner. As a result, the four-time world champion locked up his left front tire that cost him valuable time as well as a potential pole position. As things stand, the No. 3 driver will be starting the Mexico City GP in P5.

Notably, Verstappen had been very quick all day long, and particularly in Q3, as he sat in second after the opening runs. But even if the Dutchman had been able to complete his final push lap without any hindrances, the best he would have been able to start the Mexican GP was P2.

Max Verstappen Hit With Grid Penalty for Liam Lawson Incident

Had Norris not been a hindrance in Verstappen’s run, the No. 3 driver was looking set to topple Hamilton’s fastest lap time. However, the Dutch driver would still not have been on pole for Sunday, owing to a one-place grid penalty given to him by race control on Friday.

In the same stadium section where Norris came in front of him, Verstappen tangled with Liam Lawson during FP2, which was “unacceptable” in the eyes of the FIA stewards. Further branding the exchange a “clumsy” move on the part of both drivers, the stewards handed both drivers a one-place grid drop.

Additionally, each driver received one penalty point on their superlicense. Speaking about the penalty, Verstappen felt that the punishment was a “new one.” Taking a subtle dig at race control, he added that it feels like they will keep “inventing” new penalties as things go on.

Nonetheless, Verstappen revealed that he has had internal chats with all the parties involved and that there were no hard feelings between him and Lawson. However, the sentiment this time was far from what he felt when the incidents initially occurred.

Max Verstappen Was Far From Happy With Liam Lawson After FP2

During FP2 in Mexico City, Verstappen and Lawson went wheel-to-wheel against each other between Turns 12 and 14, ultimately resulting in each of them picking up a grid penalty. Following the incident, a furious Verstappen stated that whenever he puts on his helmet, he always wants to get the most out of things, but not in practice.

But that doesn’t mean that the 29-year-old would let any driver push him off the track. For the Dutchman, a driver of the Red Bull sister team needs to respect the ‘A-team,’ much like he did when he was a Toro Rosso driver.

Advising Lawson further, Verstappen claimed that the New Zealander should think of the situation that he is in, given he does not have a driving seat for next season yet. For someone fighting for a seat at Racing Bulls, Verstappen feels that they should not be looking to pick fights with him.

While the Dutch driver has always been very vocal in his support of the 25-year-old, he felt that it was “unfortunate” to see something like this happen.

More F1 Reading

• Oscar Piastri Can’t Explain Grip Loss That Ended His Mexico City Qualifying in Q2
• Lewis Hamilton Delivers ‘Millimetre Perfect’ Lap to Claim First Ferrari Pole at Mexican GP
• Charles Leclerc Warns Mexican Grand Prix Order Will Be Set in First Few Corners
• Kimi Antonelli Admits Being ‘More Tense Than Usual’ As He Chases Championship Glory in Mexico City