Why Lando Norris kept his title-clinching P3 in Abu Dhabi: full stewards’ explanation on Yuki Tsunoda move. Lando Norris overtook Yuki Tsunoda off-track at Abu Dhabi.

Lando Norris came under investigation by the race stewards for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda off-track, but ultimately he was not penalized and was allowed to continue the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix without any sanctions. Here’s the full explanation behind the decision.

Norris under scrutiny

During his final race of the season, Lando Norris, unaware of the full extent at the time, was examined by the stewards for exceeding track limits while passing Yuki Tsunoda between turns 5 and 6 in the middle of a strong comeback drive. McLaren team members followed the investigation closely, concerned that a penalty could affect their championship hopes.

After reviewing the incident, the stewards decided to issue a 5-second penalty to Yuki Tsunoda for repeatedly changing direction while defending against Norris. However, for Norris, the official ruling was “no further action” regarding the off-track overtake.

Why Norris was cleared

The stewards’ official report clarified the reasoning behind their decision. “Car number 4 (Norris) overtook car number 22 (Yuki Tsunoda) off-track,” the report states. “However, this happened because car number 22 performed multiple maneuvers to defend its position against car number 4. Without these defensive moves, car number 4 could have completed the pass on track, but had to go off-track to avoid contact with car number 22.”

The report continued: “According to the driving standards guidelines, if a car is ‘forced off-track’—which occurred in this case—it is not considered to have exceeded track limits. Although the overtake technically occurred off-track, based on this context, we have decided not to take any further action against car number 4.”

Lando Norris secures third and the championship

Essentially, Norris was forced to go off the track due to Yuki Tsunoda’s irregular defensive moves. Once the investigation into both maneuvers was closed, Norris returned to third place and crossed the line on the final podium step. Despite finishing behind race winner Max Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri, this result was enough for Norris to claim his first Formula 1 World Championship, edging Verstappen by just 2 points.

It’s also important to note that even if a hypothetical 5-second penalty had been applied to Lando Norris, the outcome wouldn’t have changed, as he finished the Abu Dhabi GP 6.7 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, which ended the race in fourth place.