McLaren has instigated a right of review of the penalty meted out to Lando Norris in Austin in a bid to have the Briton reinstated to third position.

The youngster was penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, in that while both he and Max Verstappen ran wide in Turn 12 whilst battling for third position, in the process the McLaren driver illegally passed his Dutch rival. As a result a 5s penalty was imposed.

The stewards deemed that Norris was overtaking Verstappen on the outside, but was not level with the Red Bull at the apex. Therefore under the Driving Standards Guidelines, the McLaren driver had lost the "right" to the corner.

Accordingly as he left the track and returned in front of Verstappen, it was deemed to be a case of leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage. As a result a 5 second penalty was imposed instead of the 10 second penalty recommended in the guidelines because having committed to the overtaking move on the outside Norris had little alternative other than to leave the track because of the proximity of the Red Bull which had also left the track.

However, in view of this, the stewards determine that this would not count as a track limit "strike" for Norris, which would have meant a further penalty.

Arriving in Mexico, Norris admitted to still being baffled by the penalty.

"He did what he thought was right and I did what I thought was right," he said of the incident. "I still disagree and as a team we disagree.

"I think what we saw with George and Bottas's version in some ways was very similar to ours, he said of the incident earlier in the race which saw the Mercedes driver penalised. "I was completely ahead of Max, I was over a car length ahead of him. I was no longer the attacking car, he was. I was ahead of Max, I was having to defend, he was the one attacking me and effectively he has gone in too hard and overtaken off the track.

"I simply maintained my position so it is something I am sure we will discuss as it has been a big talking point since last weekend. A lot of other drivers didn't agree with it, teams didn't agree with it.

"The point is that he only stayed ahead of me at the apex because he went off the track, he would not have been ahead at the apex if he braked where he should've braked and stayed on the track. I think that is obvious."

McLaren subsequently took advantage of its right to essentially appeal the penalty by instigating a right of review, whereby the Woking team must introduce new evidence that wasn't available at the time the penalty was awarded.

The hearing, which will involve the COTA stewards attending by means of a video conference will take place between Friday's practice sessions and it is understood the Red Bull has been summoned to attend.

In 2021, Mercedes sought to show that Verstappen broke the rules whilst battling Lewis Hamilton, arguing that on-board footage from the Red Bull which supported its case had not been available to the stewards at the time they made their decision.

The German team failed in its bid for while the stewards accepted that the new footage was evidence it was significant enough to consider reviewing.

The hearing will take place in two parts, however the second part will only take place if the stewards agree that there are grounds for the original decision to be reassessed.

If successful, Norris' pass on Verstappen would be deemed legal and the Briton would be credited with third place whilst the Dutchman would drop to fourth.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Schrodinger's cat, 25/10/2024 12:50

"Norris was penalised because, once he was off the track, he drove as though he was still on it. He left two tracks of rubber where he spun his wheels, as he floored the accelerator, and was in no hurry to return to the track.

He should be glad the penalty was only five seconds, as F1 should put a stop to such behaviour, because it's both reckless and dangerous.

But given that drivers have worked out how to defeat the DRS benefit that a car following has, how else can a driver pass a slightly slower car, except by diving into a corner, and hoping not to be penalised?
"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Mad Matt, 25/10/2024 12:16

"@Pavlo I tend to agree with you first post. The only point I can think of that may be grounds for appeal is if they accept that Lando had already passed Max on the straight. In the case Max is the attacking car and would be required to give Lando space... under the current rules as I understand them.

Personally I don't like the rules as they are now but really McLaren should be moving on and just be smarter next time."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Pavlo, 25/10/2024 10:53

"@F1nerd agree and this also surprised me. RB was telling Max that he has to push, but ML kept saying “you are good” and seems like he got to know about penalty only after the finish."

Rating: Negative (-1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by F1nerd, 25/10/2024 10:23

"Lando should have made up the 5 seconds, he crossed the line 4 seconds ahead of Max so a little bit more effort he could have kept 3rd position."

Rating: Negative (-2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by ian_w, 25/10/2024 9:19

"I would have much more enjoyed the post-race team theatrics if Norris had been given a 5 second penalty for passing outside the track limits AND Max be given a 5 second time penalty for forcing a car off the track."

Rating: Positive (4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by Pavlo, 25/10/2024 8:31

"McLaren is acting ridiculously unprofessional.
Stewards decision clearly said “competitor may appeal”, but team principal said after the race “we are not allowed to appeal”. Then when it’s settled they suddenly change their mind, without any new evidence.
And the situation is clear - they may dislike the rules, I may, we all may. But the rules are the rules: who is the first on apex has it, no matter what. It is ridiculous, but as long as it’s the rule - it’s the rules.
Norris knows that and should have driven that corner differently, not just letting Max do what he was obviously going to do and then complain."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

McLaren seeks right of review of Norris COTA penalty

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page