2023-06-20 14:15:04
According to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, the FIA stewards may have set a “new benchmark” by penalizing Lando Norris for “unsportsmanlike behaviour” at the Canadian Grand Prix.
On the 12th lap of the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell came to hit the wall following an error in turn 9. The impact, which spread many bits of carbon on the track while leaving the pilot Mercedes idling, caused the exit of the Safety Car and precipitated the first salvo of pit stops.
Circulating in the wake of his teammate Oscar Piastri at this point in the race, Lando Norris momentarily eased off in order to let the Australian take the lead and thus allow McLaren to make a double pit stop. As a result, the drivers driving behind #4 were also forced to slow down, overtaking under Safety Car being prohibited.
The incident, noted by the marshals during the race, led to an investigation and then to a five-second penalty for “unsportsmanlike behavior”, which ruled Norris out of the points. Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, believes that this term, rarely used in F1, suggests a desire on the part of the FIA to establish a new code of conduct on the track.
“We actually went to speak to the marshals right after the race because we thought that kind of speeding during a Safety Car or even a Virtual Safety Car shouldn’t be an offence”he commented.
“It is possible that the stewards want to set new benchmarks. We continue to discuss with them. Ultimately we trust their judgment, but we are re-examining Lando’s behavior at this very moment, because we are coming out of this race. very surprised that it resulted in a penalty.”
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, makes a pit stop
In their investigation, the stewards took note of radio communications between Norris and his stand. Although there was no evidence that the Briton was ordered to slow down, it was deemed that the team had given enough information for him to know what he had to do.
In their judgement, the stewards referred to the International Sporting Code and to the section which refers to “any violation of the principles of fair competition, any unsportsmanlike behavior or any attempt to influence the results of a competition in a manner contrary to sporting ethics”.
Stella added: “This is a case that really needs to be considered in detail before expressing too strong an opinion. We understand the position of the commissioners. We understand that they want to set a precedent for there to be a new way of interpreting how you should drive under Safety Car. If that’s their approach, great, but it’s a bit of a shame that we’re involved in setting a new precedent.”
Is this an indication that the FIA has started to tighten the screw on double pit stops? Stella isn’t sure.“Not to my knowledge, but let me do the due diligence”did he declare.
“We can dwell on these details but there was a race [à gérer]. We were also fighting for points. If we could have overtaken instead of being blocked, we could have [créer un écart de] five seconds. So we are doing some of the work that we weren’t able to do during the race to verify exactly the facts associated with this episode.”
With Adam Cooper
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