Lando Norris‘ Azerbaijan experience was not exactly what he had hoped for.
Even though the McLaren driver qualified in sixth place, he ended up with a grid penalty that cost him three places. This was after he did not enter the pit lane when red flags were waved.
In standard conditions, the penalty for this type of infringement is being dropped five places on the grid.
Norris had to make a split-second decision
Since Norris had little time to react, his penalty was less severe. But the Brit did receive three penalty points on his license.
Even though the 21-year-old started the race from P9, his weekend ended with him at P5.
Norris went on to claim that the penalty imposed on him was unfair considering he was not a danger to anyone at that moment.
Michael Masi thinks otherwise
Race director Michael Masi however rejected Norris’ disapproval of the decision.
“To be honest, from karting to Formula 1, when a red flag is shown the meaning is very clear,” he said.
“Brake off and come to the pit lane immediately. So that even for a six-year-old, driving a kart race for the first time, there is no ambiguity. That is consistent for all track races.”
Stewards know what is best
Masi went on to explain that the stewards who were imposing penalties have a guideline that they follow.
“The stewards can obviously impose whatever penalties and demerits they think are appropriate in an incident,” he continued.
“They have a guideline to use, but in this case they felt it was appropriate not to apply the guideline, which is a more severe penalty, because of the mitigating circumstances.
“The penalty points on Norris’ license they felt was appropriate because it was a red flag violation.”
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