Lando Norris is under investigation for ‘driving erratically’ following a messy last-lap battle with Charles Leclerc. The Brit slipped from second to third on the final tour of the sprint race on Saturday.
The championship protagonist enjoyed an ideal start when the lights went out, gaining positions on Leclerc and second-placed George Russell to put his MCL38 machine right in the mirrors of title rival Max Verstappen.
After closing to within 1.2 seconds of the Dutchman during the middle portion of the race, Norris’ pace dropped off and he came under pressure from the fast-charging Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Leclerc.
Sainz made his way through after Norris locked up at Turn One, but the Brit managed to avoid dropping to fourth, blocking Leclerc with a bold defensive move to the inside at Turn 15.
Unfortunately for Leclerc, he anticipated a different defensive move and nearly lost control of his SF-24 in an attempt to avoid crashing into the rear of Norris’ McLaren.
This battle earned Norris a trip to see the stewards with a potential penalty on the cards for the 24-year-old. This would be a disastrous outcome after Verstappen gained two points on the McLaren driver in the sprint.
According to 2009 world champion Jenson Button, the Brit has no need to fear. “[It was] the perfect block,” he told Sky Sports F1. “There’s nothing wrong with that at all. He’s turning in under the braking zone. But you always do that there.
“He’s done nothing wrong. That’s how you cover the corner off. Charles just didn’t expect it because no one covered that corner off. I think Lando did exactly the right thing there, it just wasn’t expected by Charles. That’s the line you do when you block.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur disagreed though. “I think Lando moved a bit under the braking zone,” he stated. “I don’t know if there was contact or not but it was very close and a bit dangerous.”
