The aborted start in the Brazilian Grand Prix led to a penalty for Lando Norris, who, despite being told not to restart, completed a second lap. However, what happened to the British driver has a precedent with a different outcome: Carlos Sainz had a similar incident with Ferrari but was not penalized.
What exactly happened? During the formation lap of the Brazilian GP, Lance Stroll went off track with his Aston Martin. To remove the car from the gravel, race control issued a clear command not to start. Norris, however, misinterpreted the yellow lights and started a second formation lap.
This went against the stewards’ decision, and he was fined. George Russell, who made the same error as Norris—who started from pole—was also penalized.
Norris’ Aborted Start and the Previous Incident with Very Different Consequences
Race control has two options in such situations. One is to immediately stop the drivers on the grid; the other is to call for an extra formation lap. These two rules depend on different situations that may arise on the track.
Extra formation laps are typically used when a car has an issue on the grid and needs to be pushed away. Aborted starts, however, are chosen when there’s a problem elsewhere on the track, as with Stroll’s stranded Aston Martin. Therefore, Norris’ start reflects the second scenario.
This is not the first time this has happened. Last year at Monza, Carlos Sainz had a similar incident. The Ferrari driver was starting from pole, and during the formation lap, Yuki Tsunoda went off track, prompting intervention from race officials.
The only difference is that Carlos Sainz repeatedly asked what he should do and whether he was supposed to complete the extra formation lap. However, in that case, Sainz wasn’t even investigated, let alone penalized. So, for Norris, it really came down to a dose of bad luck.
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