Lando Norris is expecting Max Verstappen to receive a grid penalty for a “clear” block in Formula 1 qualifying at Suzuka, with the incident under investigation.
Verstappen secured his fifth pole position of the season for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, pipping Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.10s in Q3.
But while preparing for his first Q3 run earlier in the session, Norris approached a slow Verstappen at the 130R corner and was forced to take to the grass to avoid hitting the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen was trying to generate tyre temperature but lit up the rears and had to catch the car, but the championship leader downplayed the incident after taking pole.
“I was just driving quite slow, and I went to accelerate but my tyres were quite cold, so I had a big moment,” Verstappen explained.
“Then of course Lando was trying to pass me at the same time so he had to avoid me a little bit. But luckily nothing happened.”
Verstappen is due to see the stewards at 5pm local time for an alleged breach of Article 33.4, which under the sporting regulations states a driver cannot drive erratically.
Explaining the near-miss from his point of view, Norris felt it was “quite clear” that Verstappen was trying to prevent him from passing prior to starting his lap.
“People always overtake before the last corner, as much as everyone always agrees [not] to it, everyone does it,” Norris told Sky Sports F1.
“It doesn’t matter. He would have done the same if he was in my situation, but I wouldn’t have swerved at him if I was in his situation.”
Asked if he would expect the stewards to penalise Verstappen for what he did, Norris replied: “Oh yeah, for sure.”
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