Lando Norris pinged by Max Verstappen as untelevised United States GP team radio emerges
Max Verstappen and Lando Norris on the podium at the 2025 United States Grand Prix
Untelevised team radio footage from the United States Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Max Verstappen pinged Lando Norris for a track limits breach.
Verstappen claimed his third victory in the last four races at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, last Sunday to breathe new life into the F1 2025 title race.
Max Verstappen pings Lando Norris for track limits amid US GP penalty threat
The reigning four-time world champion trails second-placed Norris by 26 points, with championship leader Oscar Piastri a further 14 points in front, ahead of the final five rounds of the season.
Norris found himself at risk of a five-second penalty for excessive track limits breaches from an early stage of the race in Austin as he fought to repass Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for second position.
Drivers are permitted three strikes before being hit with a penalty for track limits with the rule strictly enforced on race day.
Verstappen was initially informed that Norris was skirting close to a penalty on Lap 21 of 56 after receiving his third strike for track limits.
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Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer, was heard saying: “OK, just information at this stage but Norris has been given three strikes now for track limits and he’s on a black-and-white flag.”
Verstappen did not respond to Lambiase’s message on that occasion.
Ten laps later, Lambiase returned to the airwaves to issue an update on Norris’s progress, revealing that the McLaren driver locked up and ran wide at Turn 12.
Verstappen could not resist pointing out that Norris’s brief excursion technically counted as another breach of track limits, with Lambiase left amused by his driver’s hint that Norris should have been penalised.
The full exchange on Lap 31 went as follows:
Lambiase: “Lando last lap a 40.1.”
Verstappen: “It’s a big struggle.”
Lambiase: “Yeah, understood. Lando also locked up at Turn 12. Went off track. Now he is pitting this lap.”
Verstappen: “So that’s a track limit?”
Lambiase: “Yeah. Thanks for that, Max! Box and pit confirm. Box this lap.”
More on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris from PlanetF1.com
Speaking in the post-race press conference in Austin, Norris described the strict policy on track limits as one of the “silliest rules” in F1 with drivers penalised for exceeding the track limits in racing situations.
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “The places which were easy to go off were Turn 9, over the crest of the hill, and then the last two corners.
“I think I was on three strikes by Lap 10, so I didn’t put myself in the best position.
“But then one of my strikes was because I was racing. I think that’s one of the silliest rules that we have – we’re invited to try and race, but if you race too much you get a penalty for it.
“And I got a track limits [strike] for trying to go around the outside and losing time to Charles, so it doesn’t really make much sense in terms of going racing.
“But it definitely made my life that little bit trickier, especially Turn 19. With the wind, it was pretty inconsistent.
“It’s difficult to just be always on the limit and not make mistakes — which I obviously made a couple too many of too early on.
“A little bit more cautious at the end because I knew I couldn’t afford a penalty, but I took the risks I needed to.”
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
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