Was Lando Norris' penalty in Qatar too harsh?

This is simply the heaviest possible penalty for a driver before the black flag. Sunday, Lando Norris was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty (a pit stop and a 10-second stop without any mechanics working on the car) in the second half of the race at the Qatar Grand Prix. On lap 30, the British driver failed to slow down despite a double yellow flag on the start-finish straight, waved because of debris on the track with the rear-view mirror ofAlexander albon exploded by the passage of Valtteri Bottas.

Lando Norris immediately applied his penalty – he had only three laps to comply with it in any case – and left in last place. However, thanks to a hellish pace on the hard tyres, he managed to climb back up to 10th place and score two points (with the point for the fastest lap) essential for the Constructors' championship. If he apologized to his team for this error which could cost dearly McLaren in his duel with FerrariAndrea Stella, for his part, criticised the decision of the commissioners, which he considered excessive.

Three precedents before the Norris case

"In the application of the penalty, I think we have lost all sense of proportion and all sense of specificity, said McLaren Team Principal from Sky Sports F1 after the race in Losail. Can we look specifically at the infraction, the level of danger associated with the situation – and, in fact, the yellow flag was withdrawn – and then judge, using those kinds of elements, the proportion and the specificity rather than taking some regulation, probably dusty, and applying it without any critical sense. From that point of view, I think the FIA ​​has the possibility to do better.

Unfortunately, for Andrea Stella, the stewards have – this time – respected the regulations to the letter in this case. Indeed, failure to respect the double yellow flags (according to article 2.5.5 paragraph B of the International Sporting Code) results in a 10-second stop-and-go penalty and three penalty points on the driver's license. Several precedents exist: during the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix, Nikita mazepin et Nicholas latifi were guilty of this offence and received this heavy penalty. Same for Kimi Räikkönen during the Belgian Grand Prix in 2017. For his part, Lando Norris admitted his fault and did not contest the stewards' decision. A heavy penalty, certainly, but severe, no.

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