Official: McLaren requests right to review hoping to restore Lando Norris’s Austin podium. McLaren hopes to overturn the 5-second penalty given to Lando Norris at COTA.

The Woking team does not give up
McLaren has requested a right to review regarding the five-second penalty given to Lando Norris at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin for overtaking the Red Bull RB20 car of Max Verstappen at Turn 12 using the escape road.

Lando Norris was penalized because he was not ahead of Max Verstappen at the apex and completed the overtake on the outside, going into the escape road after being forced wide by the Dutch driver, who also exceeded track limits. In the document where the Stewards explained the penalty decision, it was noted that the Dutchman was ahead at the apex, which was the decisive element in determining that Norris gained an advantage from going off-track.

McLaren claims to have a new significant element that could “reopen” the case. The FIA will first evaluate whether this element is indeed significant enough to justify a review. If so, a second hearing could then potentially reconsider the five-second penalty. Meanwhile, we await the decision on the first step, which is whether McLaren’s element is sufficiently significant. At stake are 6 points in the Drivers’ Championship and the same amount in the Constructors’. If Lando Norris is reinstated to third, Max Verstappen’s lead would be 51 instead of 57 points, and McLaren would be at +46 in the Constructors’ standings instead of +40 (and +52 ahead of Ferrari). The “first step” will take place today at 2:30 pm local time, or 10:30 pm Italian time, between the first and the second free practice sessions for the Mexican Grand Prix.