Max Verstappen hints at bias against him in reference to Lando Norris' F1 Qatar GP penalty
Lando Norris was penalized with a 10-second stop-go penalty at the 2024 Qatar GP as the McLaren driver failed to slow down under a double waved yellow. However, the penalty has been debated by the F1 community as being too harsh on the Briton. Max Verstappen reacted to the penalty and hinted at bias against him.
Verstappen said during the post-race press conference (via PlanetF1):
“I knew that I lifted because I saw the double yellow. And I know that, of course, if I wouldn’t have lifted, it would have been investigated straight away. So you’re just on it. I asked if he lifted because he had a DRS, I think, from a backmarker at the same time as well.”
“And then, of course, when we came out of Turn 1, I saw that he was a lot closer, so I just asked the team to check it. It was just a normal question. And I know, of course, with double yellows, they’re quite strict,” he added.
The Red Bull driver was given community service as a punishment for swearing at the FIA press conference. Verstappen protested by giving one-word answers in the post-race press conference at the 2024 Singapore GP.
At the Qatar GP, Verstappen questioned his team whether Norris lifted under the yellow flag. Upon finding that the Brit didn't, the four-time champion asked Red Bull to report the same to the race stewards.
The double-waved yellows that Norris ignored were for debris on the track in Turn 1. Hamilton and Sainz eventually hit the debris that punctured their tires and only then a safety car was called out.
Lando Norris was given the penalty after the safety car period was over. However, many have raised questions about why the FIA didn't deploy a safety car earlier when the debris was detected instead of a yellow flag.
“I couldn’t believe that I got it”: Max Verstappen on the grid penalty after the 2024 Qatar GP qualifying incident
Max Verstappen was penalized after the 2024 Qatar GP qualifying for driving unnecessarily slow on the out lap. George Russell complained on the radio about the Dutchman's slow driving and he was given an unusual 1-place grid penalty. The Red Bull driver has been on the receiving end of multiple penalties from the FIA this season.
The Dutchman spoke about how the penalty came as a surprise. He said (via PlanetF1):
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe that I got it. But in a way, I was also like: ‘I’m not surprised anymore in the world that I live in’. It wasn’t very enjoyable to see that happen because I think that’s the first time that, in the slow lap, someone has been penalized. I just tried to be nice, so maybe I shouldn’t be nice.”
The FIA stewards made some questionable decisions during the 2024 Qatar GP with the F1 community suggesting that the penalties were too harsh. A drive through for Lewis Hamilton for speeding into the pits, a 10-second stop-go for Norris for failing to slow under yellow, and a grid drop for Max Verstappen for driving slowly on the out-lap, all seemed a bit harsh.