Max Verstappen crosses the line as battle with Lando Norris intensifies

Mexico City may have been celebrating the Day of the Dead on Sunday, but the title fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is alive and well.

This is largely due to the fact that the Dutchman crossed the line, both literally and figuratively, in the latest installment of The exciting new rivalry of Formula 1.

Ten laps away from the Mexican Grand PrixThe three-time world champion, who had started second ahead of Norris, left no room for the Briton in Turn 4 as he tried to defend his position.

The McLaren driver was forced to step onto the grass and rejoined the track ahead of the Red Bull.

Verstappen’s infringement four corners later was even more egregious.

The 27-year-old pounced on the inside of Norris at Turn 8, a fast left-hander, and never came close to taking the corner, forcing the McLaren to go wide.

“This guy is dangerous!” Norris told his race engineer over the radio.

The stewards took a similar view of both incidents, slapping Verstappen with two separate 10-second penalties.

The Dutchman served both pit penalties but eventually recovered to finish sixth with Norris taking second between the Ferraris of Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

The result means Norris has reduced the gap to Verstappen by 10 points to 47 with four races remaining and 120 points up for grabs.

And the Brit was under no illusions that he would face an all-out battle for the rest of the season.

“I come into a race expecting a tough battle with Max,” he said.

“It’s clear that it doesn’t matter if he wins or comes second: his only job is to beat me in the race. And he will sacrifice himself to achieve it like he did today.”

Like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen possesses the win-at-all-costs mentality that separates the great drivers from the elite Formula 1 champions.

Norris believes Verstappen crossed the line

But Norris accused his rival of crossing the line in Mexico.

“I want to have good battles with him,” he said.

“I want to have those tough battles like the ones I have seen him have many times, but fair.

“It will always be up for grabs, it will always be difficult with Max. It’s never going to make anyone’s life easier, especially mine, at this time of year.

“I think today was just not a clean and fair race. So, I think he got what he deserved.”

For his part, Verstappen said the two sanctions were excessive, but declined to give further details about the stewards’ verdict.

“I’m not going to cry about it and I’m not going to share my opinion,” he said.

“I just drive how I think I should drive. The biggest problem I had is that it was a bad day in terms of race pace.”

Sunday was the third time Norris and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel this season.

The pair collided in Austria in June and the Briton was forced to retire, while last week in Austin he was hit with a Controversial penalty after overtaking Verstappen off the track.

Norris protested that his rival had pushed him too much.

Will Verstappen stop his aggression?

The duo remains friends off the court.but their relationship could be seriously tested over the next four races and Norris suggested it was time for his rival to tone down his aggression.

“I’m avoiding crashing today. “This is the difference,” he said.

“I can’t speak for him, and maybe he’ll say something different. I think today was a step too far for both of us.

“It was clear that the stewards agreed with that. I don’t see it as a victory or anything like that. But I rather hope that Max recognizes that he went too far.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown sang from the same song.

“I applaud the FIA ​​stewards,” said Brown. “Enough is enough. Let’s have good and clean races in the future. I think the commissioners are on it.”

What looked like a procession toward a fourth consecutive world title turned into a street fight for Verstappen, who remains winless since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23, although he did win the sprint race he won in Austin last week.

Don’t expect him to roll out the red carpet in Brazil next week.