- Verstappen third, Norris fourth behind Ferrari duo
- Norris drops place after taking five-second penalty
For all the attention on world championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who delivered a cracking and controversial fight at the finish, a fascinating late-season variable was thrown into the mix with a dominant win for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the US Grand Prix. The Scuderia now appear poised to play a part in the title fight, a cracking ratcheting up of the tension as the season enters its final run-in.
Leclerc took a one-two with teammate Carlos Sainz comfortably beat both Verstappen and Norris. With Verstappen in third and Norris in fourth after a conclusion decided by the stewards having gone wheel to wheel for the final ten laps. Norris had passed for the place but given a five-second penalty for doing so by going off track, was relegated to fourth, the British driver aggrieved at his team they had not told him to give back the place and avoid the punishment. Their fight was a gripping affair but on track the two title protagonists played second fiddle to a resurgent Ferrari who were on fire in Texas. Norris who had lost the lead at the very start of the race but came back strongly to take the fight to Verstappen, who has extended his lead now to 57 points. A net five-point loss over the weekend, far from what the British driver needs but the pace he showed at the close as the Dutchman struggled will give him some optimism for the final five meetings.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/20/head-inc-united-states-f1-gp
Author : Giles Richards
Publish date : 2024-10-20 21:16:53
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