Have the FIA stewards cost Lando Norris the F1 Championship?

McLaren's Lando Norris has slammed the FIA stewards, claiming his five-second penalty at the United States Grand Prix was unfairly justified and cost him points.

It was a dominant race for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc finishing first and Carlos Sainz following in second. However, the race for third between Norris and Max Verstappen was enthralling.

The two championship contenders were on each other's heels for the final ten laps of the race. On turn 12, Norris executed an overtake, with both drivers leaving the track and taking him into the final podium spot.

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After the overtake, Norris was surprisingly given a five-second penalty by the FIA stewards for taking the overtake off-track, and their positions in third and fourth were reversed.

According to The Guardian, Norris said: "He went off the track because he over-defended and made a mistake, but he has gained from that. I had to go off to avoid him."

"It is impossible to know if I could have stayed on the track. Therefore, you cannot steward that kind of thing. It is a rushed decision, and they don't hear or understand our points which they should do after the race. They just want to make a decision at the time."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also harshly assessed the incident, claiming the stewards' interference was inappropriate.

Stella said: "The way the stewards interfered with a beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate. Both cars went off track, so both cars gained an advantage."

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McLaren could have ordered Norris to give Verstappen the place back at the time of the incident, but because both cars went off the track, they were convinced Norris would not be penalized for it.

Norris started the race in pole position, and a win would have brought him ever closer to reaching Verstappen at the summit of the Drivers' Championship. Despite that, the Dutchman has kept a commanding 57-point lead with five races left, the F1 website reports.

The McLaren principal believes Norris lost his pole position when Verstappen dived up the inside, taking Norris wide and allowing LeClerc to steam through.

Stella said: "It was a race where we stayed patient after we were pushed off in the first lap at the first corner. We accepted it. This kind of decision cannot be appealed, and we move on to the next race."

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