Stewards see no change of direction on the brake in Lando Norris’ defense against Charles Leclerc – the Ferrari star also backtracks after the sprint
Actually, everything looked like a safe second place for Lando Norris in the Austin sprint. But then McLaren’s title contender came under heavy pressure from Ferrari on the final lap. With “completely worn” front tires, he had no chance against Carlos Sainz in turn one, missed the braking point, and had to let the Spaniard go.
Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari, however, Norris was able to keep behind him, albeit with a rather harsh blocking maneuver in turn 15, in which Leclerc was only just able to prevent hitting the rear of the McLaren. On the radio, the Monegasque driver then complained about a change of direction when braking, which the stewards then looked into.
A good hour after the finish, however, the all-clear was given for the runner-up in the world championship, who was allowed to keep his third place in the sprint: after reviewing all the images, the stewards only found “legitimate defense” but no “significant change of direction on the brakes”, so the incident had no consequences.
Except for a compliment that Norris received from none other than former world champion Jenson Button: “The perfect block. There was nothing wrong with it,” says the 2009 champion on Sky UK, explaining: “He steers in the braking zone, but you always do that there. He didn’t do anything wrong.” Rather, Button believes, “Charles just didn’t expect it because no one covers the corner.”
The Ferrari driver himself admitted as much after the sprint: “I didn’t expect him to do that, and maybe that’s why I perceived it as movement on the brakes in the heat of the moment,” said Leclerc: “I’ll have to watch the replay. His line seemed on the limit, but in the end it’s just racing.”
Leclerc does not want to make a big deal out of it: “He wanted to defend the position, I tried something. Then it got tight and we almost collided.” But the almost is also the deciding factor for Leclerc: “In the end, nobody crashed and he just stayed in front,” the Monegasque driver puts the incident behind him before qualifying.
