MEXICO CITY – There is a common thread in Formula 1's ongoing discussions about racing rules: Max Verstappen.

After a week of debate over how he competed against title rival Lando Norris at the US Grand Prix, Verstappen received a 20-second penalty on Sunday for the Mexico City Grand Prix, which Carlos Sainz won ahead of Norris and Charles Leclerc – for two separate incidents involving the McLaren driver.

The first penalty for pushing Norris off the track in Turn 4 was certainly controversial. The stewards considered that the near-identical incidents between Sergio Pérez and Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll required no further action, continuing the vexing theme of inconsistency in decision-making by the FIA's reviled stewards. However, there was no doubt about the second.

Verstappen came off the track at Turn 8 to keep Norris behind him; Not trying to make the corner, just making sure he was ahead. It's a departure from the Verstappen playbook that many have seen in Formula 1 before.

When seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton saw the drama unfold before him on the 11th lap of the race, he had no doubt who had caused it.

“I could see a group of cars in front of me and I saw a cloud of smoke and dust and I knew who it must have been,” he said after the race. It's hardly a surprising viewpoint.

The 2021 title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen is legendary, involving three on-track collisions and a number of other points of conflict between the pair. Hamilton's Mercedes teammate George Russell referred to this title fight in his own media session, saying: “I haven't seen anything like it probably since Brazil.”

The reference is to Brazil 2021, when Verstappen drove his car off the track to leave Hamilton behind in a crucial race in this year's championship fight. The move went unpunished at the time and can easily be overlooked as Hamilton cleanly passed Verstappen a lap later to win the race, but it clearly set a precedent. Verstappen delivered a copy of Norris in Mexico City on Sunday.

“This guy is dangerous,” said Norris on the radio immediately afterwards. “I just had to avoid an accident. It’s the same as last time.”

Speaking after his second-place finish, Norris reiterated what Hamilton had implied in his statement to the media: with Verstappen the playbook is often the same.

“I knew what to expect,” Norris said. “I didn't want to expect something like that because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was prepared to expect something like that. In my opinion it’s not very clean driving, but I avoided it and it was a good race.”

Norris discussed this point of view in more detail in the subsequent press conference for the top three finishers.

“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory what happened,” he said. “I go into every race expecting a tough battle with Max. It's clear that it doesn't matter whether he wins or comes second, his only job is to beat me in the race. And he will sacrifice himself for it, just like he did.” Did it today.

“But I want to have good fights with him. I want to have those tough fights like I've seen many times, but fair ones. It will always be at stake. It's always going to be hard with him.” Max. He's not going to make anyone's life easy, especially mine at this point in the year, but I think today was just… It wasn't a fair, clean race, and that's why I think I think he got what he expected.”

Norris added: “I hope Max recognizes that he has gone a step too far.”

Verstappen did not acknowledge this. In response to a question about the Norris incident during his post-race media sessions, he replied: “We didn't touch each other, so we just rode hard.”

When it comes to answering questions about his driving style, Verstappen often follows a similar pattern: deny, deny, deny or deflect, distract, distract. He did the latter on Sunday.

“The problem is that we are too slow and that's why I'm being put in these positions, that's my problem,” Verstappen said hours after the race.

The most frustrating thing about Verstappen is that he is so good that he doesn't need to blur the lines to win races. He can ride hard and fair; Due to his aggressive style, he quickly became one of the most popular F1 drivers after making his debut at the age of 17. He reminded the paddock of this two laps before the incidents at Norris when Sainz overtook him in turns 2 and 3 to take the lead in the race. Verstappen pushed the Ferrari driver as far as he could without touching him.

But when Norris stood in his rearview mirrors two laps later, it was as if a switch had been flipped. It's normal to play one championship rival harder than any other, but Verstappen's idea of ​​where the line between fair and unfair lies seems to be different for each of his rivals.

He wouldn't be the first driver to have this trait. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher were uncompromisingly willing to push the envelope to win races and championships, and Verstappen seems to embody that attitude better than any other driver in the modern F1 era.

Norris himself has been criticized for being too passive in the fight with Verstappen, but that raises another question: Is Norris passive or is it passive compared to what Verstappen is willing to do in the same situation?

“I have always fought fairly. It's me. That’s who I am as a racing driver,” Norris said on Sunday. “This is the way I drive every day. Maybe sometimes I lost because I was too fair and not aggressive enough. And I have to find a better balance.”

Towards the end of the race, Hamilton and Russell engaged in a close but fair battle, which resulted in the latter throwing shade in the Red Bull driver's direction.

“It was nice to have the fight and I mean it's always good when you fight with Lewis because it's tough and fair,” Russell said. “Right now you're seeing a number of maneuvers that are just more than just entertaining or sporty, it's just almost unfair to a certain point.”

Formula 1 will return to Brazil next week and references to 2021 and Verstappen's recent series of incidents will once again dominate the headlines. All this chatter does a disservice to what the three-time world champion has achieved this season.

The Dutchman's style can often be used as a baton, but his Formula 1 career is truly something special. From the moment Verstappen debuted in 2015 it was clear he was destined for greatness, but this year has been a hallmark of how a champion drives.

So often dominant champions are written off as products of a dominant car, but in 2024 Verstappen has done what all greats do: he won when the car was unbeatable, but, crucially, he delivered when it wasn't was unbeatable. Whether it was the win in Canada, the sprint win in Austin or the run of top-six finishes either side of the summer break when Red Bull's RB20 seemed to get worse with each Grand Prix, Verstappen has been scoring points in fantastic fashion all season fetched. His most painful loss of points, which could well end up costing Red Bull the drivers' title, came when he had to step away from the lead at the Australian Grand Prix in April due to a brake fire.

Verstappen will never stop racing hard: his aggressive style has won him millions of fans around the world and is considered one of the most exciting racers to ever compete in Formula 1. However, when he goes overboard in a way that only he seems capable of, he deserves to be warned: the Mexico City Grand Prix was one of those moments.