18 June 2023 , 22:22
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Lando Norris struggled to understand why the Formula 1 stewards gave him a penalty which dropped him out of the points at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Brit started seventh with team-mate Oscar Piastri just behind him. As a result, McLaren were feeling great about their chances of scoring points in Montreal.
Norris spent almost all the race in those minor points positions. But even though he was still in them as he took the chequered flag, he was dropped outside the top 10.
That was because of a time penalty handed to him earlier in the race. But there was some confusion over exactly why he had been punished, given the FIA simply said it was for "unsportsmanlike conduct".
It was only later that it was explained that the Brit was deemed to have been driving too slowly under safety car conditions. The stewards looked at the incident and 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.
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Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Norris had only just been made aware of that reasoning. And, judging by his response, it's safe to say he does not agree with the stewards' conclusion at all.
Norris said: "It doesn't make sense to me. I was three or four seconds down... I'm quite surprised. The rest of the race I was very happy with. There were some fun overtakes.
"Everyone leaves gaps [during a safety car period]. It's not like I was 10 seconds down on my delta. If it's a delta-difference, people should be given penalties for the last three or four years."
He was ninth on the road as he crossed the line but was demoted to 13th because of the penalty. Team-mate Piastri rose a place as a result, but only to 11th so despite a pleasing qualifying, McLaren leave Canada empty-handed.
Still, Norris' parting words at the end of that interview were tinged with optimism. He added: "It was a struggle, nothing was easy. Tough race, still managed to fight through which was nice. The pace was a bit better than the last few weekends. Hopefully we can take some step forwards next time out."