Formula 1: Max Verstappen using controversial rule to his advantage

Ever since Max Verstappen entered Formula 1 as a 17-year-old in 2015, he has always made a habit of pushing the rules of racing conduct to their absolute limit. On many occasions, he's even pushed them past their limit.

Whether it be his infamous moving-under-braking clashes with Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, and even his teammate Daniel Ricciardo from 2016 to 2018, or his constant "back out, or we crash" incidents, mainly in 2021 with Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen's style of combat, while electrifying, has always stirred up conversation.

Arguably the most talented and aggressive driver who has ever had the privilege of racing in Formula 1, Verstappen was bred to be this way from a very, very young age. His father Jos Verstappen, a former Formula 1 driver himself, controversially raised him to be the insanely skilled and fearless driver he is now, and because of that, what you see now is part of his DNA and will likely never change.

At the United States Grand Prix, yet more controversy surrounded Verstappen's driving.

It all began right in turn one at the start of the race, when Verstappen dove up the inside of Lando Norris for the lead, and drove him off the track on exit, so much so that he crossed the white lines himself. No penalties were issued to either driver.

Then came the pair's battle for third place in the closing stages, when Norris got a great run with DRS on the outside into turn 12 on lap 52, before Verstappen seemingly out-broke Norris and ran both drivers off again. Norris passed the Red Bull driver off the track, leading to an eventual five-second penalty that promoted Verstappen back to third.

As expected, that incident and the subsequent penalty on Norris created a ton of controversy after the race. Many felt that Norris was unfairly penalized, as he was visibly forced off the track, and that Verstappen should have been penalized, given the countless other penalties handed out to other drivers at the same corner for similar, lesser incidents.

Others felt that both drivers should have been penalized since they both committed different offenses in the same incident.

The two drivers also disagreed with each other on what the ruling should have been, with Norris saying, "he overtakes off the track, he defends off the track", while Verstappen said he doesn't feel any sympathy for McLaren, and that "they complain a lot". There will always be bias in their opinions of course, but it does show how divisive the decision was.

A lot of people seem to be missing the bigger picture as to why it all played out the way it did.

The ruling on Norris' penalty states that "Car 4 (Norris) was overtaking Car 1 (Verstappen) on the outside, but was not level with Car 1 at the apex. Therefore, under the Driving Standard Guidelines, Car 4 had lost the 'right' to the corner. Accordingly, as Car 4 left the track and returned in front of Car 1, it is deemed to be a case of leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage."

The key words in that ruling are that Norris "was not level with Car 1 at the apex", and because of that, he "lost the right to the corner".

This is relatively consistent with many other FIA rulings in the past handful of years, specifically with Verstappen.

Remember the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, when Hamilton tried to breeze past Verstappen on the outside of turn four with DRS, only for Verstappen to brake super late and drive both of them way off the track? The Dutchman wasn't penalized for that, despite how far off the two of them went, because his nose was at the apex of the corner before Hamilton's.

That's just one of many times that Verstappen clearly drove Hamilton wide and off the track in 2021 alone. He also did so during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. He wasn't given an in-race penalty at Imola but crashed out with Hamilton at Monza and was later issued Super Licence penalty points.

Verstappen knows the rules better than anyone else, and he is able to walk the line perfectly.

As mentioned, nobody has pushed and exceeded the limits of the on-track rules more than Verstappen has since he entered the sport nearly 10 years ago. While that has led to many mistakes, penalties, and incidents, especially in his early years, what it has done now is allowed him to learn exactly where the line is with what is allowed and what is not.

Verstappen has learned that no matter what, if he has his nose ahead of his opponent at the apex, especially if he's on the inside of that corner, he is entitled to do virtually whatever he wants with the car on the outside. If it means he has to brake 100 meters too late and drive himself off the track, then he will do it, because he can.

More crucially than anything, this mentality makes Verstappen nearly impossible to overtake without massively overpowered DRS assistance. If you're approaching Verstappen on the track, he will always contest the position by blocking the inside, which puts you in a position where he can just brake later than you and force you wide, all in a legal manner.

Norris has fallen victim to this numerous times all season long, including in Austin and most notably in Austria back in June, which amounts to perhaps the biggest reason the championship hasn't swayed away from Verstappen's favor despite his relatively obvious pace disadvantage since May.

Other drivers have yet to find that limit of the rules on a consistent basis, because their mentalities and skillsets simply don't allow them to be as aggressive as Verstappen, without the fear of a crash or a clumsy move that results in a penalty. His car control is also so far superior to every other driver, that it allows him to test these things and execute them perfectly, rarely with any error.

Most would agree that the rule about having your nose ahead at the apex, especially after the events of the United States Grand Prix, is heavily and fundamentally flawed.

Verstappen has shown that if you have enough car control, you can drive insanely aggressively and not fall afoul of the rules. He's used this rule to his advantage, and he will likely continue to do so, because technically, there's nothing to say it isn't fair.

However, you can't deny the entertainment value it brings. As shown in his battles with Norris in Austria and Austin before disaster struck, and in his numerous fights with other drivers in years past, his style creates great, sustained battling with a showcase of brilliant car control under pressure.

Given the controversy from this past weekend, however, it wouldn't be at all surprising if this rule is changed. But until then, it's up to the other drivers to figure out how to manage the rules of conduct similarly to Verstappen, and use them in combat against him to take away the advantage he holds.

As the saying goes, don't hate the player. Hate the game.