Explained: Why was Lando Norris given a 10-second stop/go penalty during the F1 Qatar GP
McLaren driver Lando Norris was given a 10-second stop/go penalty during the 2024 F1 Qatar Grand Prix which denied him an opportunity at winning the race. The British driver found himself on the wrong end of the punishment after he failed to slow down for yellow flags on the start-finish straight.
The yellow flags were waived as a precaution due to a mirror being on the main straight. While most of the drivers followed the FIA guidelines, Max Verstappen noted that his rival Norris had not slowed down given he gained on him in the first sector.
After the Red Bull driver informed the same to his team on the radio, Norris found himself under investigation for the issue and later got a 10-second stop/go penalty which meant that he rejoined the race in last place.
But he managed to make his way back into the points and finished P10 with an extra point for the fastest lap that helped the Woking-based team to take its gap from Ferrari to 21 points heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
Oscar Piastri gives his take on Lando Norris's penalty at the Qatar GP
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri stated that he was not sure about Lando Norris's penalty as the former finished in P3 behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
During his post-race interview with F1TV, the Aussie said:
"Not sure what Lando’s penalty was for, but obviously quite a big one. It’s going to be an exciting end to the year. Hopefully we can be strong but it’s going to take everything we’ve got to seal the deal."
Max Verstappen had a tough battle on the safety car restart before the penalty and said:
"I tried something different out of the last corner, where I had no rear grip basically, so I just struggled for traction out of the corner. It got a bit spicy into Turn 1 but I think that’s great to see. And then after that, we drove it to the end with good pace, so very happy to win here."
At the Qatar GP, Charles Leclerc also closed down the gap to Lando Norris to eight points in the battle for P2 in the drivers' championship.