McLaren team principal Andreas Stella has expressed his surprise and concern over the penalty imposed on Lando Norris for unsportsmanlike behavior during a double-stacked pitstop at the 2024 race. Norris was penalized for creating a gap to his teammate Oscar Piastri, which is prohibited under the rules governing pitlane conduct.
The incident occurred when a safety car was deployed following George Russell’s accident, presenting an opportunity for drivers to make pitstops. McLaren opted for a double stack, pitting both cars on the same lap. However, Norris was reported for going too slowly on the track before entering the pitlane, thereby impeding Alex Albon, who was behind him and also planning to pit.
During the investigation, the stewards took into account McLaren’s radio communications. Although there was no explicit instruction for Norris to back off, it was determined that the team had provided enough information, including the time gap to Piastri, for Norris to understand what was expected of him.
Norris was told, “Lando, safety car, safety car. You are the second car, you are the second car. Oscar three.”
Rather than invoking the rule pertaining to driving unnecessarily slowly, the stewards referenced the International Sporting Code, which addresses fair competition, unsportsmanlike behavior, and attempts to influence competition results contrary to sporting ethics.
Consequently, Norris received a five-second penalty, which significantly impacted his final position, dropping him from ninth to 13th in the classification.
McLaren believes that the use of the term “unsportsmanlike behavior,” rarely employed in F1 outside of black and white warning flags, indicates that the FIA intends to establish a new precedent for situations like double-stacking.
Stella remarked, “We thought these speeds under a safety car or even a virtual safety car shouldn’t be considered a reasonable infringement. There’s a possibility that the stewards want to set new references. We are in discussion with them. We trust their judgment, but we are reviewing Lando’s behavior again because we were surprised by the penalty.”
When asked about precedents for such penalties, Stella stated the need for a detailed analysis before forming strong opinions. While understanding the stewards’ position and their desire to establish a new interpretation of driving under a safety car, Stella expressed disappointment in being part of the process to set this new precedent.
Stella also noted that there had been no recent indication from the FIA regarding their intention to address the issue of double stacking.
He concluded by saying, “We will conduct a thorough analysis because during the race, it is difficult to delve into these details as the race is ongoing. We were also fighting for points. We will now examine the facts associated with this incident, which we couldn’t fully investigate during the race.”
