Lando Norris says he “knew what to expect” from arch-rival Max Verstappen as the pair found themselves once again locked in a frantic wheel-to-wheel battle in Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix.
However, this time around, the stewards took action, twice, against the Red Bull driver for running Norris off the track in the early stages of the race.
In the first instance, Norris, eager to gain ground, made a bold move around the outside of Verstappen at Turn 4, setting up a potential overtaking opportunity. But the Dutchman responded by running the McLaren driver wide and forcing Norris on to the grass.
The drama continued as Verstappen attempted to regain the lost position. In a desperate move, he lunged up the inside of Norris at Turn 8, seemingly with no intention of making the corner and once again forcing his opponent beyond the limits of the track.
Both maneuvers were sanctioned with a 10-second penalty by the stewards which virtually thwarted Verstappen's afternoon at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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Norris, visibly frustrated by Verstappen's aggressive tactics, expressed his disappointment after the race, which he concluded in second position almost five seconds behind race winner Carlos Sainz.
"I knew what to expect," commented the Briton. "I didn't want to expect such a thing because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was ready to expect something like this.
"This is not very clean driving, in my opinion, but I avoided it, and it was a good race.”
Norris explained that the early part of the race was about staying out of trouble.
“The first few laps, a lot of it was just trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes,” he said.
“I will just keep my head down and I am doing my best - we're doing a very good job as a team.
"Today we were probably quickest in the end, but we will keep our heads down, that is all I can do for now: focus on ourselves and keep pushing."
The renewed battle between Norris and Verstappen prompted McLaren CEO Zak Brown to speak out, praising the stewards for taking action after McLaren had raised concerns about Verstappen's driving style following last weekend's US Grand Prix.
"Probably not enough," Brown told Sky F1, commenting on Verstappen's penalties. "I mean, it's getting a bit ridiculous. I applaud the FIA stewards, enough's enough. Let's just have some good clean racing moving forward.
When asked if he was satisfied with the FIA's handling of the situation, Brown added, “I think the stewards are on it. That's clear by the penalties that they assessed.
“So, I don't think we need to do anything, just let the stewards do their job. “They did a good job this weekend.”
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