A chaotic Qatar Grand Prix didn’t quite produce the ending that fans were hoping for as Lando Norris kept Max Verstappen within touching distance.
That was until he earned a 10-second stop-and-go penalty as a result of failing to slow down for double-waved yellow flags on the main straight.
Norris was penalised to the tune of 35 seconds, as he was forced to serve one of the most severe penalties in the sport and dropped to last place.
It damaged McLaren’s constructors’ championship hopes and opened the door for Ferrari to close the gap on a day when they simply had to.
Max Verstappen taught Lando Norris another ‘lesson’ with Qatar ‘revenge’
In a move which shows exactly why Max Verstappen is a four-time champion, the Red Bull driver anticipated that Norris would fall foul of the rules.
Immediately after passing the flags, he told his team to check whether the Brit had slowed down at all on his way past.
READ MORE: Ted Kravitz shares what ‘seething’ Max Verstappen said to George Russell ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix
It turned out he hadn’t – which is considered by the stewards to be one of the more extreme safety violations.
Speaking on F1-Insider’s YouTube channel, Ralf Bach insisted that this was part of Verstappen’s revenge for previous penalties in the Mexico City Grand Prix and United States Grand Prix.
“That was another learning lesson for Norris,” he said. “By that, I don’t mean fast lap driving, but that you can see from the distance in the rearview mirror [Verstappen could] that he probably slowed down far too little under the yellow flag, which he also announced quite calmly.
“Of course, this is also his revenge on all sorts of people when they punished him.”
Can Norris get back at Verstappen one last time in 2024?
The season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a chance for McLaren to end their own 16-year title drought while stealing a crown that Red Bull have had for over two years.
Ferrari are hot on their heels and have little to lose in pursuit of ending a similarly painful championship-less streak, so expect them to be aggressive.
With his title wrapped up, it could mean that Verstappen will also get in Norris’ way one last time in 2024 – but it also brings with it an opportunity for the Brit to end the year on a high.
READ MORE: McLaren boss shares the text he sent to Max Verstappen after ‘who is Zak Brown’ jibe
Bringing a championship back to Woking would be a huge momentum builder for his team and himself, but also help get him one over on Verstappen.
If the Dutchman’s Qatar revenge wasn’t enough to light a spark within Norris, then will they ever claim a title? It’s going to be a fascinating end this weekend under the lights…
