FIA’s savage crackdown could have serious impact on Lando Norris at the US Grand Prix

Lando Norris will be hopeful he can maintain his crown as the reigning F1 Drivers’ Champion for another week, as it looks inevitable that Kimi Antonelli will be awarded this title for the 2026 campaign over the next couple of weeks.

The Italian could do it this weekend if things go his way, depending on where his title rivals finish; with Norris being one of those hopefuls, he can deny him.

However, Norris may struggle in this aim at the US Grand Prix as the FIA attempts to make a savage crackdown on drivers regarding the regulations.

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FIA’s crackdown could seriously impact Lando Norris at US Grand Prix

Across the first two practice sessions at the US Grand Prix at Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, there have already been a staggering 207 lap times deleted.

It appears that several drivers are seriously struggling to adhere to track limits on Friday, with one of those being Norris.

In total, across the first two sessions, he had 18 of his lap times deleted for breaching track limits, a worrying total for the Brit.

He was not the only driver to struggle, particularly among those looking to deny Antonelli being crowned the Formula 1 World Champion this weekend.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton had 14 of his lap times deleted during these sessions, while his teammate Charles Leclerc saw 15 of his chalked off.

Antonelli also struggled to remain within track limits too as he had 13 lap times deleted; however, Max Verstappen has only had three as he continues to look confident and impressive across recent Grand Prix. As seen in the FIA's official race weekend logs.

The Italian spoke about why this is an issue for several drivers, as he said: “t is not easy - it is a difficult track with a lot of elevation changes and also the wind in some corners is quite odd.

“The track limits mainly come from mistakes. You just lock up a little and then you go long, but the FIA is trying their best to widen the white lines.

"But it is difficult; it is not easy, and when you try to discover the limit, it is normal that you get [violations], but it is also the fact that you have so much tarmac.

“In some corners, we have so much tarmac, and the green bit on some of the exits is very grippy, so that also pushes you to use even more track. I know it is going to be everyone got a lot of track limits, and it is not easy.

"But that is why in FP3, it is going to be important to find the limit and understand how much you can push in a corner without doing track limits - so it is going to be a thing, but I will try to do my best."

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The penalty for excessive track limit violations

Penalties are the reason why it could be a serious issue for Norris this weekend at the US Grand Prix.

These penalties for track limits vary from session to session and can change depending on location.

Any track limits infringements in practice or qualifying result in the lap time being deleted. Yet, if the infringement occurs in the final corner, the next lap time can also be deleted if stewards deem the driver to have gained an advantage from carrying more speed through the corner.

During the race, there is more leniency with drivers receiving two warnings before they are shown a black and white flag for a third.

Should they exceed track limits for a fourth occasion a five-second time penalty is awarded. So drivers, particularly Norris, will be looking to fix their approach to the race so they do not suffer this punishment as they look to deny Antonelli the title and from becoming the youngest Drivers’ Champion ever.