Jenson Button calls for major F1 rule change after Verstappen and Norris controversy

has thrown his weight behind a major Formula One rule change after the controversy surrounding and Lando Norris.

Opinion was split on whether Verstappen should've been punished for his involvement in a - an incident that saw the pair both veer off the track.

Norris picked up a five-second penalty at the for the error, which eventually led to him falling further behind Verstappen in the final standings, losing ground in the race to be crowned world champion.

But even though the Dutchman exceeded track limits as well, he was spared by the stewards because he was defending the overtake, as opposed to instigating it.

Verstappen, a master at staying just inside the guidelines, held his line perfectly and as the Red Bull's front axle was alongside Norris' at the apex, the 26-year-old got off scot-free.

Former world champion Button wasn't convinced though, and while he admitted Verstappen was well within the rules, the pundit urged the lawmakers to introduce a tweak to avoid future incidents being so impactful.

Confronting Verstappen's actions during an interview with Red Bull chief Christian Horner, Button said: "Max was in front but is that because he let off the brake in the apex so he ran them both off track?

"It seems your driver is very good at understanding the regulations and it's more of the problem that we need better regulation of what is okay and what isn't."

He added: "We saw it with many fights on the track at that corner. Guys overtaking, putting it down the inside and then just driving the other guy off the track. If it was Monaco they wouldn't do that.

"We need a rule that you cannot push another car completely off the track and then I think we would have some better racing and we wouldn't have to keep talking about this."

It's an idea that appears to be gathering pace, with.

Taking to social media, the former racing driver turned pundit said: "IMO [in my opinion] if the driver on the outside is more than 75% alongside - as Lando was - then they should be entitled to 1 cars width on the exit of the corner, but currently that is not in the rules.

"The way the current rules are, Max pushed the boundaries but he's allowed to. If there was gravel or a wall along the outside of the kerb, then Lando wouldn't have tried to hang on for so long out there."

Concluding: "Fundamentally, he overtook another car while off track and should have given the place back straight away."