Will the McLaren driver face a penalty in the Brazilian GP? The British driver was under investigation for a starting procedure violation.
As we explained, Lando Norris allegedly committed an infraction in the start procedure. Along with him, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson were also under investigation for the same reason.
Article 47.1 of the sporting regulations states: “If the formation lap has begun and the race director decides the start must be aborted, the abort lights will be illuminated. A message saying ‘START ABORTED’ will be displayed. All cars must return to the grid, and all competitors will be informed of the likely delay using the official messaging system.”
“Once the start time is known, the start procedure will resume at the five-minute mark. Tire changes on the grid are not permitted during this delay unless, in the race director’s judgment, every competitor must be given the chance to change tires, delaying the start.”
“In this case, the start procedure will resume at the ten-minute mark. Each time this happens, the sprint session or the race is shortened by one lap.”
Here is the outcome of Norris’s penalty, which arrived after the end of the Brazilian GP. The race stewards decided on a fine of 5,000 euros and a reprimand. The FIA statement reads, “The message was given, with the panel lighting up as prescribed. Teams sent notifications, but the driver left the grid, starting what should have been an extra formation lap. At a certain point, the race director, realizing that for practical reasons all cars needed to complete an extra formation lap, instructed teams to have all cars return to the grid to follow the correct aborted start procedure.”
Lando Norris was on pole, and some drivers behind him—Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson—then took the same action. According to the race stewards, “the driver hastened the maneuver of those behind him.”
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