Despite one of the strongest qualifying sessions for McLaren all season, Lando Norris will start the feature race on Sunday in P10. Following his lap time getting deleted because he exceeded the track limits, a devastated Norris let out his frustration on the team radio after owning the blame and calling himself “stupid.” Oscar Piastri, too, underwent a similar fate, giving Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes a massive advantage over Ferrari.
The case for Piastri was even more embarrassing as the Australian, who thought he was P3, even posed for a photo alongside Verstappen (P1) and Russell (P2). Piastri later found out he would start Sunday’s race from P6. Meanwhile, F1 Journaal reports Hamilton not being in favor of the white line rule in Qatar and spoke out in favor of Norris after receiving a stroke of luck.
Lewis Hamilton believes Lando Norris should have been at the front row on Sunday
It was an eventful Qualifying session in Qatar as the track limits rule played spoilsport to many teams’ ambitions. However, no team suffered as much as McLaren, and no driver benefited more than Lewis Hamilton. Despite the same, F1 Journaal reports Hamilton came out in support of Norris as a needless rule, tailor-made for the Qatar GP, ended up ruining the 23-year-old’s qualifying session.
“Lando should actually be here, I don’t think we need track limits here at this circuit. When you go over the highest point of the curbs you lose time so there shouldn’t really be a white line.”
Already under criticism with the white lines rule, the FIA is under even more backlash following their decision to bring the lines further in for the rest of the weekend.
As such, not only will it become more difficult for drivers to keep their cars under control on a sandy track, but it could easily see drivers lose out on grip even if they sway off the line by millimeters.
FIA decides to further trim the track for the Qatar GP
According to the latest reports, Pirelli has discovered a separation in the sidewall on several tires caused by the 50mm ‘Pyramid Kerb’ between Turns 12 and 13. As such, the FIA has decided to bring the white lines in by 80cm to prevent drivers from going over the kerbs. To help drivers familiarize themselves with the new limits, a 10-minute practice session will take place before the Sprint Shootout.
🗣️ “Lando should be up here.” 🙁#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren #QatarGP
— McLaren F1 News 🏴🇦🇺 (@TheMcLarenZone) October 6, 2023
A tighter line will mean drivers will have to be more cautious when tackling the track; however, it also means cars will be quicker through a lap. Wider lines mean cars are slower through the turns and lose out on valuable fractions of a second in a race. Once racing begins in Qatar, the drivers will have to adopt an even more aggressive approach with slightly less space to maneuver their cars.
