McLaren driver Lando Norris has blamed Netflix’s Drive to Survive for the utter chaos that ensued at the Australian Grand Prix, and believes many decisions were influenced keeping purely the entertainment factor in mind.
When Kevin Magnussen’s crash prompted a complete stoppage of the race, the Dane was eventually able to get pulled over to a safe place, but there was plenty of debris on the track.
This prompted race stewards to bring red flags out, keeping the safety of other drivers in mind.
With all cars coming back to a formation lap standing start, it literally made the race a two-lap shootout.
Norris had been within the points till that point in the race, but with some more crashes taking place at the restart, many penalties were awarded.
The race on the whole became a very messy affair. Entertainment for the fans came at a premium to general racing standards and the sanctity of rules in the pinnacle of motorsport racing.
Lando was disappointed with the manner in which the race was conducted, and while he ensured that he didn’t brand his comments under ‘complaining’, it was clear that he did not want to mince words.
“I don’t see everything obviously, I see what I see in the cockpit,” Norris said.
“I don’t feel like the second to last red flag was needed. The last one, I’m sure it was because there was a lot of people in the gravel and things, but the one before, possibly not. Maybe to put on a bit of a show.
“But yeah, I just feel like things can very easily get taken away for you after 55 laps of a race through no fault of your own because someone locks up in Turn 1 and takes you out, just because they want to make it exciting.
“I don’t know. I’m not complaining, it helps us a little bit and so on.”
Overall, McLaren got off the mark in the constructors’ standings, with both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri managing a points finish for the Papaya-Orange.