F1 News: Lando Norris Fights Back At "Unsportsmanlike" Penalty - "Most People Should Be Given Penalties"

The McLaren driver isn't happy with he penalty from the Canadian Grand Prix.

In a turn of events at the Canadian Grand Prix, Lando Norris, McLaren's veteran driver, faced a bewildering penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct," which caused him to fall several places to 13th after it was applied. This penalty left Norris feeling "confused", after what he thought was just a normal safety car appearance. 

It was George Russell who triggered the safety car, as he limped his damaged Mercedes W14 back to the pits after driving too hot into the final chicane and hitting the wall of champions. He later managed to get his car back onto the track in a miraculous move from the Brackley team, but Lando wasn't as lucky. 

With teams scrambling to get their drivers into the pits during the safety car, Norris was accused of holding up the pack to give his team to get his teammate Oscar Piastri a little more time to get out of the pits to not hold him up. The Brit argued that he drove normally, and that he didn't even know he was pitting until much later.

Talking to Sky F1, he explained his actions:

“You want to keep the temperature in the tyres," he explained. "Everyone leaves gaps and opens up gaps. It wasn’t like I was ten seconds behind my delta. If it’s because of the delta difference, then most people should be given penalties for the last three years or four years.

He continued:

"So, I’m a bit confused. Nothing I can do. I slowed down to warm the tyres a bit and as soon as they told me to box, I pushed and tried going as fast as I can."

Unfortunately for the team, they weren't able to score any points after the penalty was applied, with Piastri coming 11th. McLaren, therefore, sits P6 in the constructors' standings behind Alpine, a mere 27 points ahead.