Ever helped your best bud in a time of dire need without anyone knowing? Lando Norris relates to the most recent Canadian GP that took place yesterday.
The FIA stewards are known for having an eagle’s eye for the sport looking at everything from a bird’s eye view upstairs. They give out time penalties in the form of seconds with 5,10,15 seconds etc. Once a driver receives a 10-second penalty, it is highly unlikely that said driver regains their position.
Why F1 slapped Lando Norris with a time penalty?
The whole charade started with George Russell crashing his car into the turn 8-9 chicane on lap 12 of the 70-lap Canadian GP. This brought enough harm to the car that eventually forced him to retire from the competition. Upon seeing the safety car, Mclaren called Lando and Piastri into the pits for seizing a timely double-stacking opportunity.
The stewards accused Lando of intentionally driving slowly to leave enough room in order for McLaren to seamlessly change the tyres on both his and Piastri’s cars. They picked this up after noticing Norris’s speed down Montreal’s straight which was alarmingly slow.
Stewards reported it as “unsportsmanlike behaviour” at 1523 Montreal time soon after the incident had taken place. The stewards cited Article 12.2.1.l of the International Sporting Code as they sanctioned the McLaren driver. The aftermath of this was felt in the cars behind as they were delayed by approximately 50 km/h.
This is what Lando Norris had to say about the same:
“I’m surprised… Of course, you go slow and you go quick, you speed up, and you want to keep the temperature in the tyres, so everyone leaves gaps and opens up gaps. It wasn’t like I was 10 seconds behind my delta so if it’s because of the delta difference, then probably most people should be given penalties for the last three years or four years!”
Penalty’s Effect on the Gilles Villeneuve
Carlos, Lando, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda, and Stroll were the drivers who received various penalties over the course of the race weekend.
“Carlos Sainz has been handed a three-place grid drop for the Canadian Grand Prix after being found guilty by the stewards of impeding rival Pierre Gasly in the final stages of Q1 in qualifying in Montreal on Saturday afternoon. Gasly was completing his final lap in Q1 when the cameras showed him being forced to go off track to avoid Sainz at the final chicane, meaning the Alpine driver missed out on Q2, and is set to start Sunday’s race from 17th,” reported F1 on their website.
FIA handed out a three-place grid penalty each for AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll for impeding Hulkenberg and Ocon respectively. Tsunoda started the race at P16, whereas Stroll started the race at P16.
Lando Norris finished 13th while Piastri finished P11 in the Canadian GP. Hence sadly for the Mclaren team, it means another race without a point finishes making it the 5th race out of 8 races so far. The team needs to pull themselves together and bring about a better result in the upcoming races.
What are your thoughts on the time penalty given to Lando Norris during the Canadian GP? Do you believe it was a fair decision by the FIA stewards or do you think it was unwarranted? Share your opinions in the comments section!
