McLaren want inquiry for Lando Norris penalty which risks “consequences”

McLaren have called for an inquiry into the penalty issued to Lando Norris during the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.

Norris was hit with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for ignoring yellow flags when a wing mirror fell off Alex Albon’s Williams. The punishment dropped Norris from second to 10th.

It cost McLaren vital points in their quest to win the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998. The Woking squad hold a 21-point lead over nearest rivals Ferrari heading into the Abu Dhabi season finale.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insisted the penalty “lacked any specificity and proportion” and risks “consequences”.

"I'm here acknowledging that, checking the data, Lando did not slow down,” Stella said.

"But the lack of any specificity and proportion is very concerning, and is also a factor that could have a decisive impact on the championship quest.

"It's definitely material that the FIA should consider very seriously if we want fairness to be part of the competition of the going racing in Formula 1. It's an important business.

"There's a huge commitment from every team, a huge commitment from all the parties, and we need to make sure that the business is run in a way that some fundamental element of proportion and specificity is guaranteed when a penalty is applied. Otherwise, the consequences may go out of control.

"To me, it looks like somewhere there must be a book with a lot of dust on the cover that was kind of taken out [and someone said]: 'Let me see what it says. I apply this.’”

Stella confirmed McLaren are seeking a review into the punishment from F1’s governing body the FIA.

"We expect that this case of applying such a severe penalty will be reviewed by the FIA, and there is certainly, in our opinion, material for improvement once the FIA has taken this opportunity to open a review of their operations and application of the penalty,” he added.

"As for the rest, we don't want to comment. We trust the FIA in terms of their decisions, in terms of when you put somebody in a certain role - that's the job of the FIA.

"For us, we have expressed that we expect this to be the case to be reviewed but we don't want to enter with any comment about changes of racing director. We don't have the elements to judge, so we just trust the institution that is there to do this kind of job.”

FIA explain Norris penalty

The FIA are released an explanation for the decisions that were made during Sunday’s chaotic race in Qatar on Monday.

In this, they said Norris's penalty was "in accordance with the penalty guidelines circulated to the teams on 19 February 2024". 

F1's governing body added: "A double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty."