Lando Norris’ disappointment is clear from his post-race comments. The British driver spoke about the decision made by the FIA: “If they think I did something wrong, I probably did something wrong.”
The result of the Qatar Grand Prix did not complete the task for the Woking-based team, leaving the Constructors’ Title unsigned in Papaya colors. This was due not only to Oscar Piastri’s third-place finish behind Charles Leclerc but also to the penalty imposed by the race stewards on Lando Norris, who allegedly failed to slow down during a Safety Car period, resulting in a 10-second stop-and-go penalty near the end of the race.
A yellow flag had been displayed following debris left on the track by Alex Albon’s car mirror. After spending much of the race battling with Max Verstappen, exchanging fast laps, Norris’ pursuit of a podium finish—and thus, the Constructors’ Title—was compromised. The championship battle is now open until the final corner of the Yas Marina circuit next week in Abu Dhabi, a venue that has hosted many Formula 1 battles in the past.
The 1999-born driver commented on the incident with diplomacy, accepting the penalty from the FIA, and additionally apologized to his Woking team for not securing a better result: “I’m disappointed, of course. I’ve let the team down. The team gave me a fantastic car today, easily the fastest out there, and I messed it up. I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m not an idiot; if there’s a yellow flag, I know I need to slow down. That’s rule number one you learn in go-karts “.
“For some reason, I didn’t respect it today. I probably didn’t see it, or I missed it, or something like that. So, I have to accept it. If they think I did something wrong, I must have done something wrong, and I can only apologize to the team for the rest of the year. We were fast; I did the best I could. But I’m disappointed to only get two points with the fastest car out there today ,” concluded Norris, who, despite the penalty, managed to finish in 10th place and even earned an additional point for the fastest lap.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella’s Opinion
On the other hand, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella shared his thoughts on the incident with the media after the Qatar Grand Prix: “We checked the data, and indeed, Lando continued to push. We have to say that the sector appeared yellow just as Lando entered it. However, the request was very clear—you need to lift off the throttle. It’s the driver’s responsibility to recognize the yellow sector and reduce speed .”
“At the same time, I think it’s quite strange that the yellow flag was displayed and then removed, when, in fact, the situation in that sector was the same. There was debris all over the track, the yellow flag was shown, and then 10 seconds later, it was gone. It was an unfortunate incident. I also think the penalty wasn’t proportional ” continued Andrea Stella, explaining how Norris was essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Photo: McLaren Racing.
