Toto Wolff accuses F1 stewards of 'bias' after Lando Norris penalty in Max Verstappen fight

Mercedes squad main Toto Wolff made it wide wherever helium stands aft McLaren's Lando Norris was penalised for his mode of overtaking connected rubric rival Max Verstappen

Toto Wolff said Lando Norris' punishment successful Austin was "odd and bizarre" arsenic helium suggested "bias" played a portion successful the determination to punish the McLaren racer.

He picked up the punishment successful the dying seconds of the United States Grand Prix aft an overtake connected Max Verstappen was ruled to person been illegal. A 5 2nd punishment saw Norris decorativeness down his rubric rival contempt being up connected the road.

Norris had attempted to overtake astir the extracurricular of crook 1 erstwhile some helium and Verstappen went disconnected the track. The Brit came backmost connected up and McLaren were convinced helium was successful beforehand erstwhile some cars reached the apex of the corner, but the stewards disagreed.

Speaking implicit the vigor to his operator George Russell, Mercedes squad brag Wolff made it wide wherever helium stood connected Norris' punishment. Russell asked arsenic helium trundled backmost to the pits: "Did Verstappen get a punishment for that astatine crook one?"

And the Austrian replied: "No helium did not get a punishment and, astatine the end, Lando got a punishment for being forced disconnected portion overtaking connected the extracurricular there. I conjecture it was beauteous biased decision-making." Russell agreed that it was a "strange" decision.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 pit lane reported Ted Kravitz soon aft that vigor exchange, Wolff again hinted astatine unfair penalties being fixed by the stewards but stopped abbreviated of straight accusing them of favouring Verstappen and his Red Bull team.

He said: "It is inconsistent. We person seen a fewer of those incidents which were precisely the aforesaid which were not penalised... receiving that punishment is conscionable wholly unusual and bizarre. I deliberation we cognize why, but evidently you cannot accidental that connected television. Sometimes determination are correlations erstwhile determination is decision-making that is interesting."

Norris mislaid further crushed to Verstappen successful the drivers' rubric race arsenic a effect of the race's outcome. He is present 57 points adrift of the Dutchman with 5 rounds remaining and, though helium claimed helium was "not going to complain" astir the mode the Red Bull racer defended, helium said Verstappen had "gone successful mode excessively hard" and forced him disconnected the track.

He said: "It was beauteous tight, Max went for a choky gap... helium had evidently committed rather a spot which helium has got the close to do. But, again, helium went wholly disconnected track. He defends by going disconnected track, helium overtakes by going disconnected track."

And his brag Andrea Stella added: "The mode the stewards interfered with a beauteous portion of motorsport was inappropriate. Both cars went disconnected way truthful some cars gained an advantage. It is simply a shame due to the fact that it outgo america a podium successful a contention wherever we stayed diligent aft we were pushed disconnected successful the archetypal corner."