Lando Norris's penalty benefits Max Verstappen, extending his drivers' championship advantage, while Charles Leclerc triumphs in the US Grand Prix.
Initially surrendering the lead at the race's commencement, Norris managed to outmaneuver Verstappen to claim third place during lap 52. However, he was penalized for exploiting an advantage by deviating off the track. As a consequence, Verstappen regained a spot on the podium, while Norris slipped to fourth position.
In retrospect, Norris stated, "Had I performed better in the first turn and dodged acting like a fool, I should've maintained the lead post-turn one, and this whole argument wouldn't have even arisen in the first place," as reported by Reuters.
He further added, "It's just a bummer. Even if I had ended up first after turn one, I wouldn't have stood a chance at the top two positions anyway, and the most significant adversary I had to beat was Verstappen – the individual I failed to outshine today."
Lately, Norris has made a comeback in the drivers' championship standings, finishing ahead of Verstappen in each of the previous four races just before the Austin Grand Prix – securing two victories, including the triumph in Singapore.
However, Norris still needed to add an average of 8.67 points to Verstappen before each race weekend to clinch the title, leaving him with the task of surpassing Verstappen by over 11 points in the remaining five tournaments.
On the other hand, Ferrari celebrated a one-two finish in Austin, Texas, with Leclerc taking the front position within 8.5 seconds of teammate Sainz.
Leclerc took the opportunity to overtake Norris and Verstappen in the first corner, and he continued to dominate the race up until its conclusion.
"I'm overjoyed," said Leclerc via Formula1.com. "The weekend hadn't been a breeze so far, as I was struggling with the car's feel up until now. But I was confident that my performance would improve during the race. Yesterday's Sprint race confirmed our advantage, even though we anticipated that the other racers would boost their performance significantly today. However, our performance was still superior. I'm over the moon that we managed to attain a one-two finish for the team – it was beyond our wildest dreams."
The outcome propelled Ferrari to within 48 points of McLaren in the constructors' championship table, with Red Bull trailing only eight points behind.
Following a nearly four-week break since the Singapore Grand Prix, the drivers will be back in action this coming weekend in Mexico, followed by Brazil a week later.
Despite Norris's recent success in motorsport, consistently outperforming Verstappen in the drivers' championship standings, the championship title remains elusive due to his need to consistently outscore Verstappen by a significant margin. In contrast, Leclerc's dominance in motorsport was evident in Austin's Grand Prix, where he claimed the first position, showcasing his skill and determination in the world of motorsport, a testament to his love for the sport.
