“It’s either black and white”– Drivers to question FIA director Michael Masi for not punishing Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris for their violations

“It’s either black and white”– Drivers asking questions over Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso violations going unnoticed.

Formula 1 drivers want to question FIA’s Race Director Michael Masi why the stewards did not punish Fernando Alonso Alonso and Lando Norris for violating the regulations.

Alonso went punished after the investigation was initiated on the premise of whether the Spaniard responded to the double yellow flags during the Q1 of qualifying; he later went unpunished.

And Norris was not charged for crossing the pit lane entry line during the last race in Russia. Pierre Gasly, who was penalized in Turkey for hitting Fernando Alonso, was confused about these two decisions. For him, it has to be either black or white.

“These last two events I don’t really understand the regulations because to me it’s either black and white, and these two situations for me were very clear,” said the AlphaTauri driver.

“I think it has to be discussed what we are allowed to do because there is, of course, one incident which is a white line, not safety related, and another incident with double yellow flag where safety was related.”

“I’m sure we’re going to discuss that with Michael. But I think all of us in the team were surprised with that.”

The rules have to be consistent demands Lance Stroll

Stroll, who also sought answers for Alonso not being punished, demands a consistent judgement. The Canadian driver was allegedly a victim of Alonso’s speeding during the yellow flags, as the latter managed to improved to a 1’25.284 the next time around after overtaking him.

“I think the rules need to be consistent, especially in a double yellow, which it was,” he said. “You can’t keep pushing. You can’t set a lap time. You should have to, on a double yellow, abandon the lap time.”

“Which it was, it was a double yellow. On a single yellow you can lift and if conditions are improving with the lift, if you can demonstrate that with the data and you set a fast lap time, fine, if there’s a clear lift. But in a double yellow, for me it’s clear, you have to abandon the lap and that wasn’t the case. So I just think that there’s different decisions being made, which is funny.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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