“I don’t deserve three points on my licence for this” – Lando Norris has been handed a three-place grid drop in Baku for not entering the pit lane on time after a Red Flag.
The incident happened in the first qualifying session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed his Alfa Romeo, causing a Red Flag.
Lando Norris was in two minds – to enter the pit lane or come back after a lap run. He was compelled to do the latter as he was driving at high speed past the entry point. He communicated to his McLaren engineers, but it was too late by then. Considering the situation, the ruling seems unfair, as pointed out by the man himself.
“It’s not my place to really comment because it’s the rule but for certain situations, they [the stewards] should think what it is like to be in the driver’s seat for a second and what they have to react to, the speed they are doing and the time you have to react to things and so on.
“A reprimand or something is the right thing but to have a bit more understanding in some areas and be able to have a bit of a rethink on what is actually really fair for the driver or the team that went wrong.
“I didn’t put anyone in harm’s way. If anything, I took the safer option out of not boxing and that makes it even worse. I don’t deserve three points on my licence for this.
“I didn’t do anything dangerous, or I didn’t do anything because I didn’t know and I was clueless or anything. It was nothing to do with that. I know what the rules are so it’s not like I’ve got a lack of understanding or anything like that.
“It shouldn’t ruin my Sunday for such a thing. As I said, it is, in my opinion, a bad decision or just an unfair penalty, an unfair ruling but it is the way it is. I can’t do anything about it.”
