McLaren face title blow as Norris review rejected

MEXICO CITY — The FIA has rejected McLaren’s appeal over the U.S. Grand Prix penalty Lando Norris labelled a “momentum killer” in the title fight.

Norris was given a costly five-second penalty in Austin after the stewards deemed he had gained an advantage by going off track while overtaking Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The penalty dropped Norris from third to fourth, behind his title rival, at the finish.

McLaren lodged a right to appeal on Thursday, arguing that Norris was actually the driver defending, rather than being the overtaker as declared in the stewards’ statement, because his car was already ahead of Verstappen in the braking zone.

“Accordingly, as there is no relevant new element, the petition is rejected,” they said in a written ruling issued at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

But the FIA rejected McLaren’s submission on Friday evening, meaning the U.S. Grand Prix result is now locked in and no follow-up hearing will take place.

The stewards verdict means Verstappen leads Norris by 57 points going into this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, one of the five remaining races before the end of the season.

“We will continue to work closely with the FIA to further understand how teams can constructively challenge decisions that lead to an incorrect classification of the race,” McLaren said in a statement.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.