The moment Lando Norris lost the F1 Championship

No fairytale
Mathematically impossible
Last two races
Penalty
Ferrari dominance
On each others heels
Overtake off-track
Andrea Stella
“Both cars gained an advantage.”
Giving the place back
Commanding lead
Losing pole
“Move on to the next race”
No fairytale

It won't be a fairytale ending for McLaren's Lando Norris after his rival Max Verstappen secured his fourth Formula One Championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Mathematically impossible

To keep the title race alive, Norris would have had to finish ahead of Verstappen, but the Dutchman finished fifth, with Norris finishing sixth. The 63-point gap is too big with two races remaining.

Last two races

Before Las Vegas, Norris finished second at the Mexican Grand Prix and a disappointing sixth at the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, the United States GP may have cost him the chance of winning the title.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Penalty

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

Ferrari dominance

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.

On each others heels

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.

Overtake off-track

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.

"He over-defended"

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."

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

"It is impossible to know"

"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."

Andrea Stella

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

“Both cars gained an advantage.”

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."

Giving the place back

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.

Commanding lead

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 63-point lead with two races left, the F1 website reports.

Losing pole

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

“Move on to the next race”

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."

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

More for you