F1: Lando Norris Sends Warning to FIA - 'If You Don't Want Me to Race Then You Can Have These Rules'

Alex Harrington | Jul 5, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; McLaren driver driver Lando Norris (GBR) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Lando Norris has sparked intense conversation around the penalties imposed for drivers exceeding track limits, particularly during overtaking. The incident that brought this issue to the forefront occurred during the Austrian Grand Prix, where Norris, in a daring attempt to overtake Max Verstappen, briefly went off-track and was subsequently handed a five-second penalty.

Norris’s penalty came after he attempted to overtake Verstappen at Turn 3, where he locked up and was forced to run wide. To avoid the sausage kerb and to appease racing standards, Norris voluntarily relinquished the position he had briefly gained, which, he argues, actually put him at a disadvantage. The penalty, Norris described, was "pretty silly" as he had already lost a significant amount of time compared to Verstappen — a scenario he believes did not warrant a penalty.

Discussing the broader implications of such regulatory actions, Norris expressed his frustration:

"It’s pretty silly, to be honest. I've tried to do an overtake, I've locked up, I've gone off the track just, and tried then to avoid the sausage curb. Then immediately I gave the position back to Max, so I probably lost a second and a half in doing that. It's clearly not a penalty. I've lost out in doing such a thing. These sorts of things will avoid people racing. If you don't want us to race and don't want me to try and overtake and have a boring race, then you can have these rules.

“I'm sure it's something that has already been brought up because there's a difference between going off track and gaining an advantage and going off because you've made a silly mistake and you've not judged something perfectly."

The sentiment was echoed by other drivers, including Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull, who shared his own grievances with the rules after facing similar penalties.

"In Barcelona, I think I went wide at Turn 1 and because I was battling with another car and forced wide. Obviously, I took the right [escape] road to rejoin the track next to the bollard and I followed the rules, but they took it as a track limits [penalty]. I mean, I didn't gain anything. Obviously, I let the other car pass, and in the end, I rejoined the other car behind. I had two occasions [already and] they counted that as track limits. I can't understand why we use that as a track limits. It's just ridiculous, that rule,” Tsunoda explained.

Oscar Piastri, Norris’s teammate, also voiced his concerns.

"I think for me there's two points. I think the first one is if there is space for a car to go off, that we monitor it in a fair way. The evidence that led to my top being deleted was from a helicopter that was only on me for that lap, which is a bit painful when there are other people that potentially also went off that didn't have a helicopter on them."

As discussions loom at an upcoming meeting in Silverstone among team managers and drivers, Norris is hopeful for a change that would differentiate between gaining a deliberate advantage and unintentional off-track excursions in the heat of the race. Norris added:

"The fact you get punished for that, especially in a racing situation, especially when I have given it up even more time, it just doesn't make sense. So, it’s something I hope they fix quickly.”