Lando Norris believes Lewis Hamilton was fortunate to escape Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix with just a 10-second penalty - but he sympathises with his fellow Brit.
Hamilton dropped from seventh to eighth in the race results following a track limits investigation by the FIA. The result leaves the seven-time world champion, who hasn't won a race for 19 months, 123 points behind runaway title leader Max Verstappen.
Reigning champion Verstappen is on course to win a third title after winning five consecutive races. Hamilton has vowed to "keep fighting" ahead of this Sunday's British Grand Prix, but it's hard to predict when Verstappen's dominance will come to an end.
Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly also lost points after receiving the same 10-second penalty as Hamilton, which allowed Norris to jump above Sainz into fourth. The McLaren driver thinks Hamilton should've received a much bigger penalty.
Norris was asked for his opinion during an interview with Sky Sports. The Brit, unaware Hamilton actually received a 10-second penalty, laughed: "He only got a five-second penalty... it should've been way more! He had about four strikes in one lap."
Yet Norris also had sympathy with Hamilton and the other penalised drivers. He said: "People on the outside, they complain. But they don't understand how difficult it is to stay within the track limits. Yes, you can say that I did and [ask] why can't everyone else do it?
Do you agree with Lando Norris? Let us know in the comments below!
"But it depends on what position you're in. If Fernando [Alonso, who finished fifth] was behind me the last five, 10 laps, I can assure you I would've done track limits at least once [breached the rules] and then I probably would've got a penalty.
"It just depends on whether you're under pressure. When you're under pressure, you're pushing that little bit more - you have a little bit more of a slide - but that's just a human error. That's racing at the end of the day.
"It feels tough, for some of the things that you feel like you almost shouldn't be penalised for. But when it's a rule, it's also a rule for everyone. I guess that I didn't. If you struggle, then you've just got to slow down. But you never want to do that when you're a driver.
"It's complicated. It's just not as easy as what it looks like on the outside - I can assure everyone of that. I have sympathy for the people that did get it in a way, but I also don't."
Hamilton offered his opinion Sunday's race on Instagram. He wrote: "There are days when I can say I’m truly proud of myself and days like today when frustration takes over. In a race it can feel like you’re hanging off a cliff and losing the strength to hold on.
"It’s confusing for us to have such strong performances one day and then be nowhere the next. But when you really care about what you’re doing you brush it off and keep fighting! Heads down for Silverstone, hope to see you all at home."
