Lando Norris accused Formula One’s stewards of rushing their controversial decision to penalise him in his duel with Max Verstappen – a verdict the British driver called a “momentum killer” in his bid to win a maiden world crown.

Lando Norris was handed a five-second penalty on the final lap of the US Grand Prix which cost the McLaren driver a podium in Austin. Norris, who started on pole position, dropped down to fourth after the start where F1 title rival Max Verstappen blocked his path to turn one and eventual race winner Charles Leclerc took the lead.

Max Verstappen ended his winless run to convert his pole position into victory at Saturday’s sprint race in the United States and extend his championship lead over Lando Norris by two points. Verstappen led from start to finish to take the chequered flag 3.8 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who moved past Norris on the final lap.