FIA reveals exact reason Lando Norris escaped penalty in Abu Dhabi while Yuki Tsunoda got hit. The FIA explains the decisive Lando Norris–Yuki Tsunoda incident at the Abu Dhabi GP.

F1 | The penalty that decided the championship: the FIA explains the Norris–Tsunoda case

A decision that reshaped the entire championship: the FIA has clarified the Norris–Tsunoda incident and the penalty handed to the Japanese Red Bull driver. The battle between Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda effectively “decided” the title, as the ruling had the potential to influence the fight between McLaren and Max Verstappen, who at that moment was the undisputed leader of the race. In the end, the Dutchman took the victory, but the third place of car #4 was still enough for him to seal the world championship.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix became a tactical showdown between two teams fully focused on the title objective. Red Bull’s strategy was immediately clear: Max Verstappen, after keeping the lead off the line, pulled away thanks to a race pace that neither of the two MCL39s could match. The Milton Keynes team placed their hopes on Yuki Tsunoda, who started on hard tyres and was expected to act as a buffer in case Lando Norris caught him after the pit stop.

On lap 16, the British driver boxed for a set of hard tyres and, thanks also to a series of spectacular moves, quickly cleared the traffic between him and the second RB21. Once he reached the Japanese driver, he didn’t hesitate to attack him down the long straight toward Turn 6. Yuki Tsunoda tried to defend, pushing his rival off the track, which immediately triggered an investigation by the stewards.

Norris–Tsunoda and the FIA decision

The situation was complicated to assess. Lando Norris completed the overtake with all four wheels beyond the track limits, but it was equally clear that Yuki Tsunoda had “weaved” excessively on the straight. The stewards waited a few laps before announcing their decision: a five-second penalty for the Red Bull driver.

The official statement made the reasoning clear. Although the British driver went beyond the track limits, he did so because the Japanese driver “changed direction multiple times” while defending. The FIA’s guidelines state that when a driver is “forced off” by a rival, the track limit violation is not counted and is therefore not penalized. For this reason, the McLaren driver received no sanction and was able to manage his margin over Charles Leclerc without any pressure.

Max Verstappen took the race win, but the title belonged to the McLaren garage. One corner, one decision, one new world champion.