McLaren’s appeal to overturn Lando Norris’ US Grand Prix penalty rejected by F1 stewards

McLaren’s request to overturn the five-second penalty awarded to Lando Norris at the US Grand Prix was rejected on Friday after Formula One stewards decided there was no significant new evidence to warrant a review of the sanction. The penalty imposed on Norris after an incident involving Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in the closing stages of last Sunday’s race dropped him from third to fourth, allowing Verstappen to secure the final podium place.

The stewards penalized Norris for allegedly gaining an advantage by going off the track and passing Verstappen. Norris’ actions were deemed to have violated racing rules, although he acknowledged that both drivers had gone out during the manoeuvre.

In response, McLaren claimed that Norris was defending, not overtaking, as he was already ahead in the braking zone.

At a video conference attended by representatives from McLaren, Red Bull and the FIA ​​on Friday, McLaren presented its case, aiming to show new and relevant evidence. However, the referees concluded that the team had failed to provide significant new information and upheld the original penalty, saying: “There are no new relevant elements; The petition was denied.”

The decision leaves Norris 57 points behind three-time world champion Verstappen heading into the final five races of the season, including this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. McLaren, which leads Red Bull by 40 points in the constructors’ championship, expressed disappointment with the decision and decided to cooperate with the FIA ​​to improve procedures for race classifications.

“We will continue to work closely with the FIA ​​to better understand how teams can constructively challenge decisions that have led to the race being misclassified,” McLaren said in a statement. he said.