McLaren has instigated a right of review request into Lando Norris’s penalty in Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix – the first step in trying to get the sanction overturned.
Norris was hit with a five-second penalty for overtaking Red Bull’s Max Verstappen off the track as they duelled late in the race at Austin.
The right of review hearing will take place at 14:30 Mexico City time on Friday, ahead of this weekend’s race in the Mexican capital, where McLaren will have to show the FIA that there was new, significant and relevant evidence that had not been available at the time of the decision.
Such rights are enshrined in the FIA’s International Sporting Code, where Article 14.1.1 states that if “a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned, the stewards who have given a ruling or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, may decide to re-examine their decision”.
Any of the parties involved in a stewards’ decision – plus the FIA – can instigate a right of review hearing, which in this case is what McLaren has done.
The Austin stewards will reconvene via video conference for the right of review hearing, which will take place in two parts – although the second will only go ahead if they determine there are grounds for the penalty decision to be reassessed.
This right of review bears similarities to Mercedes’ attempt to get the FIA to examine if Verstappen broke F1’s then racing rules when battling Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Brazilian GP.
There, Mercedes argued that as the onboard camera from Verstappen’s car had been broadcasting backwards during the live event, with the forward-facing footage only available once the Red Bull had finished the race and been downloaded in parc ferme, the additional view of the incident created new, significant and relevant evidence that was not available when the stewards were making their original decision (in that case, not to even investigate Verstappen’s driving).
The same case occurred at Austin, with Verstappen’s live car feed only broadcasting backwards.
However, it is not yet clear if this is the new evidence that McLaren intends to submit in its right of review hearing on Friday.
Mercedes’ 2021 request was denied because the stewards determined that although the new footage was new evidence, it was not significant to make them consider continuing the review and examining whether a new decision to penalise Verstappen was needed.
If the stewards were to rescind Norris’s penalty in the second part of the right of review hearing, it would swap the results of the two 2024 title protagonists around in the Austin classification.
Norris would be reinstated to the third place he took going around Verstappen’s outside when they were both in the run-off at Austin’s Turn 12 and held to the flag – a contentious move that the stewards’ determined was what needed punishing, rather than Verstappen’s defence.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had originally said in the aftermath of the Austin race that "I don't think new and relevant evidence exists”, when questioned on whether his squad would seek to initiate a right-of-review process.
“Because the only evidence we have used so far to assess our interpretation, which is in disagreement with the stewards, is already available,” Stella continued.
“So, if you open up the right of review, I don't think it will ever be successful because you don't need new evidence, it is just a matter of interpretation."
