Canada F1 penalty “makes no sense to me”

Lando Norris says the five-second penalty which dropped him out of the points in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix “makes no sense”.

Norris was penalised for slowing down too much under the safety car on lap 12, thereby leaving a gap with team-mate Oscar Piastri, which gave McLaren more breathing space to perform a double pitstop.

The FIA stewards gave the Briton a five-second penalty for “unsportsmanlike conduct” in their verdict: “The driver slowed under the Safety Car to avoid a delay during a ‘double stack’ for his pitstop.

“During the Safety Car period the driver slowed to allow a gap to form between his team-mate in Car 81 and him. In doing so he delayed the cars behind.

“There was a significant difference in speed between Car 4 and Car 81 between Turns 10 and 13 (approximately 50 km/h).

“Article 12.2.1.l of the ISC refers to ‘any infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the results of a competition, in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics’.”

When asked about his transgression by Motorsport.com, Norris said no idea why he was penalised.

“The team didn’t tell me, so I have no idea what I got a penalty for,” he replied.

Once he was brought up to date, he said: “I only got told to box like three seconds before the box. By that time I was flat out, so it doesn’t make sense to me.

“There are plenty of times where you go slow under VSC. So, if I get a penalty today I should get a penalty for the last three years as well and so should everyone else.

“But no, I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

The time penalty was added to his race time at the finish and dropped Norris from ninth to 13th, voiding his efforts to score points after a tense midfield scrap with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.

Despite the result, Norris said Canada was his best race so far in 2023: “It was my best race of the year I would say. One of my first overtakes of the year today, it was a good race.

“I lost a position [to Piastri] but I made it back. All my overtakes were in the hairpin, I was really confident on the brakes.

“The pace was good, I wouldn’t say it was amazing, but good enough to hold on to the Alfa and the Alpine and have a chance to at least race them.”