Max Verstappen admits Formula 1 has become “too over-regulated” in its racing rules and insists further complicating the guidelines would stifle on-track action.

The three-time world champion’s driving was put under the spotlight last weekend in Austin by several of his teammates, but especially by his championship rival, Lando Norris.

The McLaren driver was slapped with a five-second time penalty by the stewards at the US Grand Prix for overtaking Verstappen outside the track boundaries, a penalty that dropped Norris from third to fourth in the final race standings .

However, Norris claimed the only reason he ventured beyond the circuit boundaries at COTA’s Turn 12 was because Verstappen put him there, running deep into the corner and then running the Briton on the exit.

Several drivers questioned why Verstappen himself escaped punishment for his defensive move, a tactic sanctioned numerous times by stewards in the past and most recently last Saturday in Austin when Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri he was punished for throwing Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. at turn 12 during F1’s Sprint event.

Responding to criticism of his defensive driving, Verstappen struck a sarcastic tone.

“Yeah, it’s pretty impressive that people can read my mind,” he said. “It’s crazy. I mean, I always tried to cut corners. I didn’t want to take a shortcut. I don’t even know what to say to this part.”

The Red Bull driver also played down the need for any further talks with Norris, explaining that their shared approach to racing is inherently tough.

“We’ve always said we want to fight hard,” he stressed. “That’s what we like to do.”

Norris and other drivers have called for changes to the rules of the race to prevent such incidents in the future. They argue that the current rules are too vague and allow for inconsistent interpretations.

However, Verstappen cautioned against making drastic changes, warning that overcomplicating the rules could stifle on-track action.

“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re getting to a stage where I almost need the book in the car,” he remarked. “That’s right.

“I mean, I think if you look, of course, over the years, the book has grown quite a bit.”

When asked if he was aware of the regulations while racing wheel-to-wheel, Verstappen acknowledged their impact.

“Yes, of course. When you have a situation like we have with the racing rules now, they try to spell out so many things,” he said.

The Dutchman believes there is no perfect solution to the balance between regulation and freedom in racing, acknowledging the cycle of adding and removing incident-based rules.

“It’s definitely over-regulated,” he admitted. “But then I can also see the other point, if we take away the rules, and then there’s an incident again like, no, we need more rules, we need to be stronger about it.

“It’s always the same, because in the past we had maybe less rules, and then you have the same argument.

“No, we have to be stronger with this or that. It’s always the same story.”

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