Norris said, “The commissioners are rushing the penalties and making decisions based on guesses.”

Lando Norris commented on the decision made by the United States Grand Prix commissioners regarding his overtaking maneuver on his championship rival Max Verstappen outside the track, stating that they “rushed” the decision and “guessed” the outcome without pilot input. Norris received a five-second penalty for his maneuver at Turn 12, where both drivers went off the track, which did not provide him enough advantage to negate the time penalty. The penalty was only issued on the last lap.

As a result, Verstappen finished third in the race standings and increased his points lead over Norris to 57 with five weekends left in the season. Speaking about the process the commissioners followed to reach a conclusion, Norris noted that the decision showed “inconsistency” compared to others and emphasized the need for pilot contributions to accurately assess the situation.

Norris stated, “I think there’s inconsistency again, but this is a difficult situation. To me, it’s a rushed decision, and they don’t seem to listen to or understand our views, which should be taken after the race.” He added, “They want to make a decision in that moment to avoid changing points, but it’s a hasty decision, and they aren’t hearing my or my team’s or Max’s perspectives.”

“This might not be the right thing to do, but the penalty came today, and there’s not much I can do about it; I just have to accept it. I tried, we both tried; it was a great battle.”

“I really enjoyed it. It was very difficult. Max drove very well and defended excellently. In the end, he finished first, so I congratulate him.”
“I don’t think you can appeal such a penalty, which is absurd because they are just guessing, and I don’t think that’s how officiating should be done. But it’s a tough job for them, so I have no complaints against them.”
“I think this comes more from the fact that they can’t see and understand everything as well as we do when they are inside the car. That’s all,” he said.

When asked whether Verstappen had “overstepped” in his defense, Norris mentioned that his championship rival entered the corners very quickly and that he was trying to keep up. He compared his overtaking maneuver to Verstappen’s move at Turn 1, explaining that Verstappen forced him off the track in that situation while maintaining his position without receiving any penalty. He also questioned why the incidents at Turn 1 were evaluated differently.

The British driver stated, “I think Max went off the track both times. He put in a lot of effort to keep me behind.”
“The thing about Max is that you have to fully commit yourself; people don’t understand that. You can’t race half-heartedly against Max.”
“It’s a bit hard to say it’s because I didn’t commit enough at Turn 1, but he accelerated so much that he went off the track again.”
“If you dive into someone on the inside, go off the track, and then can’t hold your position, but for some reason, that’s completely accepted during the first lap at Turn 1. It’s a tough situation. I don’t know what to say. It hurt me today.” he added.