Max Verstappen Hands Out Karmic Justice While FIA Goes Easy on Lando Norris’ Crimes in Brazil

The Brazilian GP weekend never fails to impress. It never fails to shock people either, and that includes the drivers. During qualifying in Interlagos on Friday, the weather conditions went from a light drizzle in daylight to what looked like a hurricane in the dead of night within a matter of minutes. When the conditions were transitioning, Max Verstappen set his pole lap in Q3. After he crossed the line, he couldn’t help but express how shocking the grip levels were. Evidently, he wasn’t too pleased with his lap, but when he found out he was P1, the only thing he said was, “That’s shocking.” A similar incident happened with Lando Norris on Saturday.

Leading up to qualifying on Friday, Lando Norris looked like he was set for pole position. But the weather conditions caught him out and he could only manage a P7. needless to say, he was disappointed, but he made amends on Saturday by snatching pole from Verstappen. Now, Verstappen got revenge.

Norris escaped a penalty but not Max Verstappen in Brazil

In the Sprint Shootout on Saturday, Norris, again, looked in form to take pole. Unlike on Friday, he actually achieved it. But like Verstappen, when he was told he’d line up in P1 for the Sprint, he was shocked, owing to what he thought was a scruffy lap. But his P1 was under a little threat because, in SQ2, he exceeded the race director’s maximum delta time while on a cool-down lap. While the FIA investigated him for this, it let him off with a reprimand, as per a post on Reddit.

Although he got to keep his pole position, his happiness lasted only a few hours. As the five lights went out for the Sprint, Verstappen in P2 overtook Norris going into Turn 1. Unfortunately for the McLaren driver, the order stayed that way throughout the race. While Norris did seem to be closing the gap at times, Verstappen’s pace was just superior.

With less than 10 laps to go, the gap between them was only around a second and a half. As it so happened, Verstappen wasn’t really pushing to his limits in the high-speed corners, but Norris was. By the end of the 24 laps, the gap increased to almost five seconds and Verstappen claimed his fourth Sprint victory of the season. In the process, he also got revenge on Norris for pipping him to pole position earlier in the day.

Read More: Despite Boastful Claim on Friday Onslaught, Lando Norris Surrenders Against Max Verstappen’s Supremacy

Despite getting beaten by one of his best mates on track, Norris is “encouraged” for Sunday’s race.

Verstappen’s revenge hasn’t wounded Lando Norris much

Considering Norris got pole position and finished second, you’d think he would’ve been his usual cheery self. But since yesterday’s missed opportunity in qualifying, the 23-year-old has been a little downbeat. That mood carried on even after the Sprint, but it wasn’t all sad faces for Norris. He found things to be happy about despite losing the Sprint.

In his post-Sprint interview, Norris was asked if he’s concerned about fighting the Red Bulls on Sunday, considering he’ll have to fight his way through. He replied, “I’m not concerned. If anything, I’m encouraged by how good our pace was today. We’re not fighting necessarily Max. we’re talking about competing against one of the best drivers in one of the best cars ever been in Formula 1. We’re not going to suddenly be fighting a Red Bull.” Focusing on Sunday, he gave his expectations for the race. “Many good surprises and a lot of positives for us. Of course, tomorrow we’ll try again, but have to do a bit more overtaking.” 

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What were your thoughts on the Sprint race? Do you think Lando Norris could’ve held off Max Verstappen had the Dutchman not gotten past on Turn 1?