Vanja #66 wrote: ↑29 Oct 2024, 20:15
How was Norris forced off if Max was fully ahead when they left the track? What prevented Norris from braking further into the corner to stay within the limits? We cannot compare Austin T12 and/or Mexico T4 with T7 because cars had very different relative positions
He literally only had to tap the brake at this very point and he stays on track, probably would even have a decent chance to defend against Leclerc by being ahead and waving around, even if he'd be slower initially.
Norris getting off track here was entirely his choice, he chose to go alongside Max no matter what, my guess is to make it look like Max pushed him wide in that case as well. Legitimate attempt and it bore fruit in the end
It could have been tactics and it wouldn't surprise me, because after the theatricals at Austin I am sure he was pissed.
However, you're also underestimating how hard it is to make adjustments while turning when you have already committed to a corner. This is way past the apex and both drivers would normally be starting to think about when they should be getting on power at this point under normal circumstances.
It's not so easy to tap on the brakes to let Max go straight and then go back to the racing line in time to defend from Leclerc as well, just like that. You also can't sufficiently slow down if you ride the brakes while turning and you can't really mash on the brakes while you are turning because with no ABS you will lock up.
But all of that is not important, because he was put on a position where he either has to back off to let Max by, losing time and potentially another position. Or go off-track with Max and minimize the losses. He choose the latter and it wasn't enough to defend against Leclerc anyway. Nevertheless, Max was not punished for pushing Lando off so this is not very relevant in the context of the penalty imo. Just trying to paint the picture on what Max forces on their opponents.
Vanja #66 wrote: ↑29 Oct 2024, 20:15
So if Lando got to keep his place even by leaving the track in T5 (I agree with this explanation, I see now he was ahead in apex and good job on flipping the script), why did Max get a penalty for T8? He was also ahead at the apex there and got ahead fully while within track limits. There have been plenty examples before where both drivers leave track and the one ahead before they went off gets to keep it and the incident doesn't even get investigated
Again, it's semantics and technicalities. If you read the penalty reports they explain the reasoning behind their decision. Judging from telemetry data and onboard footage, the stewards deemed the overtaking attempt at T4 as safe and controlled by Lando. He was ahead of Max at the entry, apex and towards the exit of the corner and from the data they had, the stewards believed Lando would have kept it on track for T5 had he not been forced off the track by Max. Hence, no penalty for Lando because "technically" the position would have been his had the opponent not forced him off. So he didn't gain anything by going off-track and he let Carlos by (the only position he "technically" gained while going off-track).
The report on T8 again acknowledges that Max was ahead at the apex and was entitled to racing room, but he did not complete the maneuver on-track.
The difference is, one of the drivers would have pulled off the overtake if he hadn't been pushed off-track by the defender. Whereas the other couldn't pull off the overtake without going off-track (by himself), while pushing the defender off in the process (again, this is not so relevant, but I like to mention it
).
Two completely different scenarios.