McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has vehemently criticized the US Grand Prix stewards for what he believes was their "inappropriate" intervention and subsequent penalty imposed on Lando Norris following his battle with championship leader Max Verstappen.
Norris and Verstappen engaged in a thrilling fight for third place in the closing stages of the race, with both drivers pushing the limits of their cars.
On lap 45, Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen on the outside of COTA’s Turn 1, with both drivers running wide and going off the circuit.
Despite Norris taking the lead on the track, the stewards later determined that he had gained an unfair advantage, resulting in a five-second penalty that dropped the McLaren driver to fourth in the final standings.
A very unhappy Stella argued that the situation was mishandled by the stewards, claiming that both drivers had left the track and therefore both gained an advantage.
"My view is that the way the stewards interfered in this beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate, because both cars went off-track," Stella told Sky F1.
"So both cars gained an advantage. It's a shame because it costs us a podium. It costs us a race where we stay patient. After we were pushed off in the first lap, first corner, we accepted it.
"Having said that, very clearly our position – this kind of decision by the stewards cannot be appealed. For us, the chapter is now closed and we move on to the next race."
Stella further explained that McLaren had "double-checked" the incident and felt confident that Norris had acted correctly, which compelled the team not to order Norris to give back the position.
“For us, there was no doubt that the manoeuvre was correct,” he stated.
Norris, reflecting on the penalty, pointed out the time it took the stewards to make their decision as evidence that it was a borderline call.
He also noted Verstappen’s aggressive first-lap move, where the Dutchman went off-track but was not penalized.
"It's impossible to know [if the team asking him to give the place back would have worked out], the stewards obviously can't make their minds up for a few laps, so it's not an easy decision, or it would have come a bit sooner," Norris told Sky F1.
"I tried. He also went off the track, a few metres off the track, so clearly went in too hard, and also getting an advantage by doing what he did. But I don't make the rules.
"I need to go look at [the start] again. I was pretty tight, obviously Max went for a tight gap. From inside the car it's obviously harder to say on some things and also easier to say on some things.
"He obviously committed quite a bit, which he's got the right to do, but again, he went completely off the track, so I need to look back at it.
"He defends by going off-track, he overtakes by going off-track.”
Although critical of the stewards' decision, Norris acknowledged the quality of the racing between Verstappen and himself.
“I'm not going to complain. Max drove well and he defended well, we had a good race together. But the rules are the rules,” he concluded.
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