Sophie Collins
Lando Norris has been handed a three-place grid penalty ahead of the Azerbaijan GP after a red-flag infringement during qualifying this afternoon.
The McLaren driver had come away this afternoon in P6, but this sanction will see him fall to ninth place for tomorrow’s start.
Today’s penalty came after Norris didn’t pit straight away under the red flag for Antonio Giovinazzi’s crash in Q1.
Some have come to the driver’s defence over the infringement, as the British driver was heading at full speed down the main straight when the red flag was summoned and although he went to enter the pit lane, his race engineer told him it was too late to pit.
Azerbaijan race Stewards said they took this into account and opted to issue him with a slightly reduced grid penalty.
A statement released read; “During the hearing, the driver admitted that he lifted the throttle, braked and was committed to and able to enter the pitlane.
“At that moment he was not sure what to do and asked his team over the radio.
“Although the team ordered him immediately to enter the pits, it was too late, and Norris crossed the finish line one more time.
“The Stewards assume that if a red flag is not respected during qualifying, a drop of 5 grid positions is appropriate.
“However, if you consider that the driver only had a very short time to react due to his position on the track, a drop of 3 grid positions is sufficient as an exception.”
The penalty will see Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda, and Fernando Alonso each promoted one place as a result of Norris’s unfortunate punishment.
Lights out is at 1:00 pm Irish time tomorrow (Sunday, June 6) at the Baky City Circuit.
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