FIA’s tough actions might really affect Lando Norris at the US Grand Prix.
Lando Norris will be hoping to keep his spot as the current F1 Drivers’ Champion for one more week. It looks like Kimi Antonelli is set to win the 2026 title soon, maybe even this weekend, depending on where his rivals finish. Norris, one of those rivals, will want to stop him from winning so quickly.
But Norris might find this tough at the US Grand Prix because the FIA is cracking down hard on drivers not following the rules. Already, during the first two practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, 207 lap times have been deleted because drivers went off track.
Many drivers are having a hard time staying within track limits, including Norris. He had 18 lap times wiped out for going beyond the limits, which is a concern. Other drivers trying to keep Antonelli from winning also struggled. For example, Lewis Hamilton lost 14 lap times, and his teammate Charles Leclerc lost 15. Antonelli had 13 laps deleted too, but Max Verstappen only had three, showing he’s been more on point lately. This info comes from the FIA’s official weekend logs.
Antonelli explained why this is tricky: the track is tough with lots of hills and some windy corners. He said you often make little mistakes like locking up brakes and going too wide. The FIA is trying to help by widening the white lines, but it’s still hard because parts of the track have lots of extra tarmac, and some areas even have very grippy surfaces that tempt drivers to push the limits.
He emphasized how important it will be in the next practice session to find exactly how far they can push without breaking the rules. Antonelli promised to do his best to manage this challenge.
The problem with breaking track limits is that it can lead to penalties, which could hurt Norris this weekend. Penalties vary: in practice and qualifying, if you go off track, your lap time is deleted. Also, if you break the limit in the final corner, the next lap time can also be taken away if officials think you gained an advantage.
During the race, drivers get two warnings before being shown a black and white flag on the third time. A fourth time leads to a five-second penalty. So, Norris and others will need to be careful not to lose time with penalties if they want to stop Antonelli from becoming the youngest Drivers’ Champion ever.