Lando Norris and McLaren slammed as decision left Sky Sports F1 pundit "shouting at TV"
Exclusive: Karun Chandhok gives Mirror Sport his verdict on how Lando Norris and McLaren have fallen short of stopping Max Verstappen winning the F1 drivers' title again
Karun Chandhok has picked out two key incidents where Lando Norris fell short as Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen "did his job properly".
The Dutchman is on the cusp of being confirmed as a four-time F1 champion. He is 62 points ahead of Norris in the drivers' championship and can seal his success next time out at the Las Vegas Grand Prix if he finishes ahead of the Brit.
Norris had been closing in on Verstappen but everything unravelled in Brazil earlier this month. The McLaren driver had qualified on pole while his rival was way down the grid in 17th, but the Red Bull racer produced one of the best drives of his F1 career - aided by the lucky timing of a safety car - to win in the Sao Paulo rain.
Speaking to Mirror Sport , however, Sky Sports F1 pundit Chandhok recalled two other key battles between them as he explained where he felt Norris and his team had fallen short. The first was the Austrian Grand Prix, where they collided while fighting for the win and gifted victory to George Russell.
"I think Austria was an interesting case where Max pushed the boundaries and Lando perhaps did not expect him to push the boundaries in that same way," Chandhok said. "There was no doubt Max squeezed Lando, but it was a move that he has done before with Carlos Sainz a year before, but Sainz was wise to it and realises that Max races in an uncompromising way.
"You have to pre-empt that and you have to have your wits about you. So I think, in that case, Lando could have moved left where there was space and he would have passed him probably into turn four and won that race as he had more speed."
Chandhok, who raced 11 times during a brief F1 career with HRT and Team Lotus, also picked out the United States Grand Prix. The title contenders duelled furiously and Verstappen was accused of running Norris off the road, but the Brit was the one penalised for overtaking off track, after his McLaren team advised him against giving the place back as they claimed he had been ahead of the Red Bull at the apex of the corner.
"He could have given that place back and, frankly, he should not have overtaken off the track," said Chandhok. "We all know this - you cannot gain a lasting advantage irrespective of the rules around being forced off track. Again, it was a sign that Max knows the rules. He knew he had to race to the apex. He knew the guidelines at the moment say you do not need to stay on track. He knew all this stuff.
"McLaren should have been telling Lando about this and Lando should have recognized that those were the guidelines that Max was playing with. Max did absolutely everything to the limit, but he was right not to be penalised because he knew the rules in Austin, whereas Lando overtook off track.
"So again, it is an example that you have to be absolutely on top of everything, racing situation, rules, Max just explores the limits on everything and you have to be prepared for that. And that is his job, by the way. He does his job properly, Max.
"Knowing the rules is a big part of the job. In a racing situation, wheel to wheel, there is only one person in the cockpit and that person is the one that has to deal with it. I think McLaren need to take some of the rap for Austin, telling him not to give the place up.
"I was watching on my sofa at home just on the Sky box, I rewound to the apex, paused it on the replay and went, 'You are not equal at the apex, what are you talking about? Why are you telling him that on the radio?' I was literally shouting at the TV, I was a classic fan shouting at the television going, 'What are you doing? He is not equal to the apex, tell him to get the place back'."
Karun Chandhok spoke to Mirror Sport via Betway.
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