Lando Norris has described the FIA’s new pit-lane exit rule as ‘stupid’ after he was called to the stewards for a maximum lap-time violation during the sprint shootout in Brazil. The sprint polesitter was given a reprimand following an investigation into his misdemeanour.
The McLaren driver was the fastest man on track during the sprint shootout on Saturday afternoon, finishing just over half a tenth clear of reigning world champion Max Verstappen with Sergio Perez rounding out the top three.
This result avenged a frustrating qualifying session on Friday afternoon for Norris. The British driver was in the conversation for pole position but could only manage a P7 finish following a hectic end to the session.
Despite clinching the P1 award in the aftermath of Saturday’s sprint shootout, Norris couldn’t celebrate comfortably as he was called to the stewards for exceeding the maximum time limit on his out-lap.
Thankfully for Norris and McLaren, the stewards opted against a penalty and instead gave the 23-year-old a reprimand. They explained that he made a “reasonable effort to not interfere with the car in front”.
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Discussing his reported breach, Norris blamed the newly implemented pit-lane exit rule for costing him time. “I tried to go but there were two cars ahead of me,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s just a silly rule. Two cars came out of the pits at a similar time when we crossed the [Safety Car] line so one has to back off. Or else you will race and it will be silly. When one backed off I had to back off. This rule is stupid in my eyes.”
The rule changes have already caught multiple drivers out this weekend, although they have curbed a persistent issue which saw the likes of Max Verstappen and George Russell stop at the end of the pit lane in Mexico.
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That change, coupled with the introduction of a maximum lap time for drivers to adhere to on out-laps, have been brought in to mitigate traffic-related issues during qualifying sessions.
They also led to three penalties off the back of Friday’s qualifying session with Russell, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon all picking up two-place grid penalties for their troubles.
All three drivers were adjudged to have blocked their rivals on the pit lane exit with race director Niels Wittich’s pre-weekend notes dictating that all racers must stick to the left-hand side of the pit-lane exit to allow others past.
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