Max Verstappen opens up on ‘unwritten rule’ Lando Norris broke during Singapore GP

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has claimed that McLaren’s Lando Norris broke an unwritten Formula 1 rule, which stopped the Dutchman from clinching the pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday.

George Russell put Mercedes on pole position while Verstappen finished in second spot on the front row.

The Dutchman dominated the qualifying session with promising pace. However, during one of the final laps, Norris slowed down at the end of the track. Despite not being on the racing lines, he was still on the track, and his presence on the track reportedly hindered the airflow, affecting Verstappen’s car with dirty air.

The modern F1 cars are said to be very sensitive to the airflow around them, and it can play a role in their performance.

In a media talk, Max Verstappen said that there is an ‘unwritten rule’, according to which the drivers have to keep an eight-second gap to the car behind them, which Norris could have done by diving into the pits

"You can't say he's holding me up, because he's not blocking me. But especially in this phase of qualifying, everyone always leaves a gap of at least eight seconds. That's an unwritten rule," he said.

Verstappen said that the incident with Norris will be remembered.

He added that he could have been close to the pole position if he had clear air on his final lap.

"That's what happens when there's a car in front of you just cruising two seconds in front. That's noted, it will be remembered as well," Max Verstappen added.

"So that was a bit of a shame, otherwise I think it could have been close for pole. It's always very exciting here in qualifying. Of course I'm disappointed to not be first, but for us this weekend so far has been really good. The car has been very competitive, so for us to be second again is very good."