McLaren disagreed with the penalty imposed on Lando Norris at the Formula 1 race in Canada two weeks ago and has now applied to the FIA for a review of the case. Norris was given a five-second penalty by the commissioners in Montreal for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.
Norris had kept his distance from his teammate Oscar Piastri during a safety car phase because McLaren wanted to make a double pit stop. The stewards saw this as an unsportsmanlike attempt to stop the opponents behind them and punished the Brit, who dropped from ninth to 13th place as a result.
At McLaren, however, they were not happy with this because they had the feeling that the FIA wanted to set a new reference that had not existed before.
“In Canada, we were surprised by the penalty and were unclear about the reasons for the decision,” said McLaren in Spielberg on Friday. “We spoke to the commissioners immediately after the race to understand the reasons for the penalty.”
The team had in mind that the FIA has “tools and procedures in its rules that enable it and the sport to deal with the operational complexity of Formula 1” – such as the “right of review” under Article 14.1 .1 of the FIA International Sporting Code.
“In light of this provision, the team took note of the initial statement and decided to calmly and thoughtfully review the case by conducting full due diligence, which also included examining the precedents,” the team shared with.
“After this careful and comprehensive review, we believe there is sufficient evidence to request a right of review from the FIA, which we have done,” the team said in a statement.
In order for a request for a review right to be granted, teams must submit a new item that was not available to the FIA at the time of the decision. According to the association, this must be “significant” and “relevant”. If that’s the case, the commissioners can re-examine the case and possibly make a different decision.
McLaren emphasizes: “We strongly support and trust the FIA and the stewards in carrying out their difficult task. We know that the stewards have to make decisions within a short timeframe, analyzing complex scenarios and often considering only partial information and multiple elements must.”
“We will now continue to work closely with the FIA, in the same constructive and cooperative manner as we normally do, and we will accept the outcome of their deliberations and decisions.”