McLaren exercise right of review over Norris penalty

McLaren has exercised its right of review the time penalty dished out to Lando Norris at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Norris received a five-second penalty for “unsportsmanlike behaviour” in Montreal when he slowed to avoid stacking in the pits behind team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The field had been neutralised behind the Safety Car following George Russell brushing the wall, with the McLaren pair running line astern.

With the interruption falling at a favourable time for many to stop, Norris stood to lose track position if he’d been forced to wait behind Piastri.

Instead, according to the stewards’ report, he slowed by “approximately 50km/h” to Piastri between Turns 10 and 13 – the hairpin and the final corner.

Norris was found to be in breach of the International Sporting Code and received a five-second time penalty which dropped him from ninth to 13th in the official classification.

McLaren has now exercised its right of review, stating it was “surprised by the penalty and uncertain as to the rationale behind the decision.”

At the time, team boss Andrea Stella questioned whether McLaren was being used to set a precedent while Norris suggested the penalty “made no sense.”

The added time saw Lance Stroll move up to ninth, having passed Valtteri Bottas in the run to the line.

It cost McLaren two points in the constructors’ championship, with Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo Sauber both gaining an additional one to their respective tallies.

In the current standings, McLaren has 17 points, eight clear of Alfa Romeo Sauber on nine.

McLaren statement in full

We can confirm that the McLaren Formula 1 Team has lodged a petition for a “right of review” regarding to Article 14.1.1 of the of the FIA International Sporting Code, on the Stewards’ decision to impose a 5-second penalty on Lando Norris for “unsportsmanlike behaviour” under the Safety Car at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.

We are very supportive of the FIA and the Stewards, and we trust them while they carry out what is a difficult job. We appreciate Stewards need to make decisions in a short timeframe, analyzing complex scenarios and often with partial information and multiple elements to consider.

In Canada, we were surprised by the penalty and uncertain as to the rationale behind the decision. We spoke to the Stewards immediately after the race to help understand the reasoning for the penalty.

The FIA’s regulatory framework has tools and processes which allow them and the sport to deal with the operational complexity of Formula 1, especially for decisions which need to be made during the race. The “right of review” is one of those processes which showcases the strength of the institution in allowing decisions to be reviewed, should that be in the best interest of the sport and this is something McLaren fully embraces and supports.

Given this provision, the team took the initial explanation onboard and decided to review the case in a calm and considered manner, performing comprehensive due diligence, which included looking at the precedents. After this careful and extensive review, we believe enough evidence exists to a submit a “right to review” to the FIA, which we have done so.

We will now continue to work with the FIA closely, in the same constructive and collaborative manner in which we normally do, and will accept the outcome of their deliberations and decision.