Inside Mexican GP driver meeting with ‘direct’ Max Verstappen and Lando Norris exchanges | F1 | Sport
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris shared ‘direct exchanges’ in the F1 drivers’ meeting at the Mexican Grand Prix as the FIA decided to investigate alterations to the series’ regulations for wheel-to-wheel combat.
This has been the dominant topic of debate in Mexico City after Norris picked up a controversial penalty for overtaking off-track in Austin last weekend, all while Verstappen’s trademark ‘get to the apex first at all costs’ approach went unpunished.
The drivers met to discuss the issue in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with reports explaining that while some drivers believed Verstappen’s moves to be hard but fair, most agreed that the regulations needed to be tightened.
Offering some insight into the meeting, Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater explained: “It was a lively drivers’ meeting in Mexico City overnight and there were direct exchanges between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen about defending and overtaking. But I’ve been told they were ‘calm’ and ‘respectful’.
“The rules of engagement and how to make them better dominated discussions. The majority view among the drivers was standards have to be improved and what is already an ongoing evaluation needs to be stepped up.
“The meeting kicked off with the drivers asking the FIA how stewards make decisions in cases like the Verstappen and Norris clash. They wanted to better understand the process. Interestingly, while delivering that explanation the FIA admitted it would draft some updated wordings to the racing guidelines and send that back to the drivers for review.
“Some saw this as a kind of admission of guilt and that the current guidelines have allowed the exploitation of loopholes. The majority thought it was positive that the FIA was able to look critically at itself and implement change.
“Another point of discussion was whether the stewards are actually using all of the rules available to them in cases like the Norris-Verstappen flashpoint. Some pointed out that the rule about forcing another driver off track could still apply in such cases. That even as the guidelines exist now forcing another driver off track should not be permitted.
“In other words, there is a clear and provable distinction between holding the corner in an acceptable way and approaching a corner with the main intent to run another driver off. Ultimately, there is an understanding that the rules will never be perfect. The appetite is to tighten wordings and try to define the guidelines better.
“The FIA’s position on driver guidelines is that they were requested by the drivers, devised by the governing body in consultation with them and ultimately signed off by the GPDA, the drivers association. They are committed to evolving them and they have undergone several updates over the past few seasons.”
