The Canadian Grand Prix result could be altered after McLaren confirmed they have lodged a petition to protest against Lando Norris’ penalty - despite the race taking place almost two weeks ago!
The British driver was hit with a time penalty mid-way through the race in Montreal for what was confirmed as “unsportsmanlike behaviour”. Despite starting seventh just ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, he ended up not scoring a single point.
He could only scrape together a 13th-placed finish. The exact reason for the penalty was due to Norris driving too slowly under safety car conditions.
After looking at the incident, stewards felt he was unfairly holding people up behind him so both he and Piastri could visit the pits on the same lap without losing time or places. He vocalised his complaints in the immediate aftermath of the race and it appears that McLaren also agree.
A statement from the team said: “We can confirm that the McLaren Formula 1 Team has lodged a petition for a “right of review” regarding to Article 14.1.1 of the of the FIA International Sporting Code, on the Stewards’ decision to impose a 5-second penalty on Lando Norris for “unsportsmanlike behavior” under the Safety Car at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.
"We are very supportive of the FIA and the Stewards, and we trust them while they carry out what is a difficult job. We appreciate Stewards need to make decisions in a short timeframe, analyzing complex scenarios and often with partial information and multiple elements to consider.
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"In Canada, we were surprised by the penalty and uncertain as to the rationale behind the decision. We spoke to the Stewards immediately after the race to help understand the reasoning for the penalty.”
It is further detailed that McLaren took the FIA’s initial explanation for the penalty onboard and decided to review the case “in a calm and considered manner”. McLaren also looked at the precedents of previous similar incidents and believed they had enough evidence to submit a right to appeal.
Should the appeal be successful, then that would see Norris lose his five-second penalty which would see him regain the ninth position that he originally finished in.
Despite that, it appears that the team has a slim chance of winning their appeal. Right of reviews are notoriously difficult to win.
Ferrari attempted their own earlier in the season after Carlos Sainz Jr’s penalty in Australia but it was denied. He was handed a five-second penalty and was eventually awarded 12th place despite finishing 7th in Melbourne.
