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Won by Max Verstappen, the race was punctuated by three Safety Cars, while a penalty cruelled Lando Norris’ hopes of second place.
The McLaren driver picked up a 10-second stop-go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, one of the most severe punishments available to the stewards.
Team boss Andrea Stella criticised the call, suggesting it was disproportionate to the infringement, though did acknowledge Norris did fail to slow as required by the regulations.
“The penalty was deserved in that case,” Stella confessed.
“Which leads us then to two important requirements.
“One is proportion, and the second one is specificity. I think the application of the penalty lacks both requirements.
“The specificity has to do with what case are we actually considering; is there immediate danger for somebody; is there a crash scene?
“The specificity leads into the proportion; the penalty needs to be commensurate. It needs to be proportioned to the severity of the infringement.
“It’s interesting that the FIA themselves were going on and off with a yellow flag, and at some stage, the yellow flag was even removed.
“From a specificity point of view, how severe is this situation?
“I’m here acknowledging that, checking the data, Lando did not slow down, but the lack of any specificity and proportion is very concerning.”
According to the FIA, it dealt harshly with Norris on safety grounds.
The McLaren driver failed to slow under double-waved yellow flags, which officials took an especially dim view of and duly penalised him in accordance with the guidelines.
“The penalty was in accordance with the penalty guidelines circulated to the teams on 19 February 2024,” a note from the FIA, received by Speedcafe, stated.
“A double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty.”
The yellow flag was for debris that had been littered across the circuit following Alex Albon’s wing mirror breaking free.
Having sat off line for a number of laps, it was eventually collected by Valtteri Bottas, exploding the mirror in a shower of carbon shards.
Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz promptly picked up punctures, likely caused by the remnants of the mirror.
It was only then that race control did more than acknowledge the debris’ presence with yellow flags and deployed the Safety Car to more permanently remedy the situation.
“Normal practice is for the Safety Car not to be deployed if there is a small amount of debris, and off the racing line,” the FIA noted.
“The extensive debris after a car hit the mirror and the punctures that occurred shortly after forced the decision on a Safety Car.
“A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain spread-out and there is not sufficient time for a marshal to clear the debris.
“The FIA constantly reviews its methods and processes and will analyse further the specific scenario, and discuss it with the teams, in order to see whether in the future a different course of action needs to be taken.”
The governing body also acknowledged a failure with the Safety Car, which saw the lights remain on at the end of its second deployment.
That compromised race leader Verstappen, who adhered to the regulations mandating he remained close to the Safety Car while its lights were on, rather than slowing the pack ahead of a restart.
As a consequence, he was vulnerable to Norris at the green flag, though managed to to hold on to the lead.
“During the second Safety Car period, the lights malfunctioned,” the FIA confirmed.
“All teams were verbally advised that the SC would be coming in, so the re-start took place in the normal fashion.
“While the reason for the malfunction was identified and fixed, out of caution, the Safety Car was swapped in time for its third deployment.”
Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, his ninth success of the season, while Norris recovered to 10th after dropping to the rear of the pack following his penalty.
Charles Leclerc was second to Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri rounding out the podium.
