The Qatar GP was a tough blow for Lando Norris, as a penalty completely upended his race. Norris was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for not slowing under double-waved yellow flags. The penalty dropped him from second to 15th, dealing a setback to McLaren’s aspirations for a stronger weekend.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP, Norris spoke about his penalty. Reflecting on his incident, Norris admitted disappointment while taking responsibility for his actions.
“There was no yellow lights that I passed. You can say that I was one, but no chance when you drive you can see that. Yeah, I mean, not ideal. I was pretty disappointed. I let a lot of people down, but it happened. It’s in the past now. I’ve apologised to the team. I would never want something like that to happen,” he said.
The Briton highlighted the difficulties of visibility in the dark and conveyed his regret over the incident. He stressed that he typically exercises great caution in such situations, always prioritizing safety over taking unnecessary risks.
“Normally I think [I’m] pretty good with those kind of things and I would never take the risk and normally be on the safer side of things. It was just unfortunate. Difficult to see the yellow flags in the dark and that kind of thing. Just a shame, but it’s happened and I feel like I moved on pretty well from it.”
Norris accepted the penalty but felt safety measures could be handled differently
The incident stemmed from a piece of Alex Albon‘s Williams, a wing mirror, detaching and landing on the main straight. Race control opted against deploying the safety car, leaving debris on the track for several laps before Valtteri Bottas eventually ran over it, causing further dispersion.
Norris’s failure to respond appropriately to the double-waved yellows led to his penalty, sparking a debate about the severity of the punishment and the decision-making process during the race.
When asked about the penalty itself, Norris acknowledged the rules but questioned the proportionality of the punishment. “I’m going to have to accept the penalty for what it was. Yes, that’s the ruling, but I don’t know. For what the safety measures were, in an ideal world maybe there could be some differences.”
The 25-year-old also pointed out the broader implications of double-waved yellow flags in high-speed scenarios. “A double yellow is to be prepared to stop. No one’s prepared to stop when you’re going 300kph. Not one driver on the grid is prepared to stop. I think that’s something completely separate to what happened.”
He added, “I didn’t see the yellow flag, and I got the penalty and I paid the price. I think everyone can agree that what it was is severe for what you see and what the actual danger was. But the rule is the rule.”
Norris suggested that a VSC or Safety Car should have been deployed if the situation was truly severe
He acknowledged that the incident posed no danger to others but understood the rationale behind such a penalty. “I get why there’s such a severe penalty for it, but no people were in danger. It wasn’t like there was someone on track or something. It was a wing mirror,” he stated.
This incident has again stirred conversations with race control for inconsistent decisions that were called into question, particularly during debris and safety management involving high-speed incidents. Norris believed it would have been more in order to call the race to a temporary halt via a Virtual Safety Car or a full Safety Car.
He said: “If it’s something so severe, the race should be stopped like a VSC or a safety car, then cleared, then continued.”
Norris understood the incident’s possible ramifications but stressed that the Woking Outfit is working hard to ensure it has no impact on their performance in the season finale.
“Honestly, I wasn’t too disappointed. I wasn’t happy with myself on Sunday night. I’ve not been down or anything over the last few days. It’s been nice that we can come here and focus already on the final weekend of the season.”
With the season finale approaching, McLaren aims to protect their 21-point advantage over Ferrari and secure their first championship title since 1998. Meanwhile, Norris is also engaged in a tight battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
