McLaren has released a statement after the FIA denied their request to reconsider the decision regarding Lando Norris’ penalty of five seconds at the US Grand Prix. Norris received the penalty for going off the track while attempting to defend his position from Max Verstappen who was in third place.
In the course of the action, Norris made an attempt to pass Verstappen at Turn 12 and both ended up going off the track. After everyone was back on track, Norris still held the slim lead over Verstappen after the two rounded Turn 12. In the end, however, the officials took a dim view of these developments and chastised Norris, as a result of which he finished behind Verstappen.
McLaren in their submission noted that the tribunal’s exorbitantly boring paper referred to as the penalty document contained an “erroneous” reference that was important and relevant as new evidence not available for consideration in the first decision that Norris was attacking and thus had at one time been the last defending driver to go past Verstappen.
Nonetheless, the FIA stewards dismissed the assertion put forth by McLaren, explaining that finding a fault in the stewards‘ decision does not qualify as new evidence for the purposes of a review. Their ruling also stressed that the argument advanced by McLaren was “not tenable”.
In turn, McLaren once again stated that they did not agree with the decision and declared that the official classification of the United States Grand Prix was “wrong”. The team thanked the FIA and the stewards for considering this matter in good time, but in no way strengthened their position that the materials that they provided were sufficient for a reconsideration.
Even during these difficult times and situations, McLaren has proven that their desire to restore order and fairness in the sport of Formula 1 is held dear and strong.
