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

McLaren’s challenge to revoke the five-second penalty given to Lando Norris at the U.S. Grand Prix was dismissed on Friday after Formula One stewards ruled there was no significant new evidence to reconsider the sanction. Norris’s penalty, issued after an incident involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the closing stages of last Sunday’s race, relegated him from third to fourth place, allowing Verstappen to secure the final podium spot.

The stewards penalised Norris for allegedly leaving the track and gaining an advantage during an overtaking move on Verstappen. Despite acknowledging that both drivers went wide during the manoeuvre, Norris’s actions were deemed to have breached race regulations.

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

At a video conference on Friday that included representatives from McLaren, Red Bull, and the FIA, McLaren presented its case, aiming to show new, relevant evidence. However, the stewards concluded that the team had failed to introduce substantial new information, and they upheld the original penalty, stating, “There is no relevant new element; the petition is rejected.”

The ruling leaves Norris trailing Verstappen, the three-time world champion, by 57 points as the season enters its final five rounds, including this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. McLaren, leading Red Bull by 40 points in the constructors’ championship, expressed disappointment with the decision and committed to engaging with the FIA to refine procedures for contesting race classifications.

In a statement, McLaren said, “We will continue to work closely with the FIA to further understand how teams can constructively challenge decisions that lead to an incorrect classification of the race.”