Lando Norris found himself on the opposite side of a familiar argument at Sepang after making a mistake under Safety Car conditions that bore similarities to the error for which he had strongly criticised Franco Colapinto in Baku. The McLaren driver ultimately avoided a collision, but the incident cost him significant time and contributed to his ninth-place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Sepang weekend was another disappointing one for McLaren. After its excellent mid-season performances, the team endured a second difficult event in succession, with Oscar Piastri finishing an anonymous sixth and Lando Norris ninth following the double non-score in Baku.
Lando Norris had strongly criticised Franco Colapinto after Baku
At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lando Norris had been deprived of sixth place following a clumsy mistake by Franco Colapinto. The Alpine driver hit his team-mate Pierre Gasly during the restart after a Safety Car period, with the incident also indirectly affecting Norris.
The episode triggered fierce criticism of the Argentine driver after the race, and some of the strongest comments came from Lando Norris himself.
“There are some drivers who shouldn’t be in Formula 1. If you cause an accident like that at a restart, you should receive at least a one-race ban.”
After having time to reflect on those remarks, Lando Norris subsequently apologised to Franco Colapinto and admitted that he had gone too far.
Norris makes a similar Safety Car mistake at Sepang
However, the mistake Lando Norris made under Safety Car conditions at the end of the Sepang race may now give the McLaren driver further reason for reflection.
The British driver came close to running into his team-mate after making a similarly significant error of judgement, something Lando Norris himself acknowledged after the race.
The queue of cars suddenly slowed following George Russell’s retirement. Norris, who was weaving from side to side to generate temperature in his tyres, was caught by surprise and had to escape into the gravel to avoid the cars ahead.
The excursion cost him a considerable amount of time and ultimately left him down in ninth place at the finish.
Norris receives reprimand rather than major penalty
There was therefore an ironic reversal of circumstances for the driver who had been one of the harshest critics of Franco Colapinto’s driving in Baku. Norris made a comparable mistake himself at Sepang, although this time the consequences were very different.
Rather than facing the same level of criticism that followed Franco Colapinto’s Baku incident, Lando Norris received only a reprimand for erratic driving.
The reigning World Champion was also fortunate that the incident did not result in contact or more serious consequences.
Franco Colapinto, meanwhile, chose not to respond publicly to the episode, avoiding any comments about the similarities between Lando Norris’s mistake in Malaysia and the incident that had generated such fierce criticism in Azerbaijan.
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