Race out of pits more dangerous than driving slowly

Norris and Hamilton both escaped sanction after being summoned by the stewards for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly.

Norris insisted that the dramatic end to Q1 in Baku, when there was 2m30s left on the clock and 15 drivers raced out of the pits in an attempt to beat the chequered flag and get a lap in, was a more dangerous situation.

The stewards summoned Hamilton and Norris after they were deemed to have breached the rules regarding driving unnecessarily slowly on out-laps. Hamilton was hoping Norris would pass him and provide a tow, and the McLaren driver, who was being followed by teammate Daniel Ricciardo, declined to do so.

Prior to seeing the stewards, Hamilton was adamant that he’d done nothing wrong and followed the rules, staying above the delta time prescribed by the FIA. 

In confirming their verdict of no further action, the stewards agreed that neither driver was at fault.

Norris agreed that Hamilton had not done anything wrong when obliging him to slow down.

“It wasn’t unnecessary, it was necessary,” he said. “He wanted a slipstream, I wanted a slipstream. And I didn’t want to pass him because of it. So he did nothing wrong, it’s racing. It was like second gear or something.

“Daniel did it to me a few years ago. Everyone knows it happens here at times.

“I don’t feel he did anything wrong. I probably would have done the same thing if I was in his boat.”

Asked if anything was fair game in situations when drivers are trying to get a tow, Norris referenced the restart after the red flag.

“I think what’s a lot worse and more dangerous is when everyone goes out the pits at the end of Q1, and it’s just a free for all,” he said. “And you have people racing across the start/finish line.

“That’s more dangerous, because people actually take risks in doing things whereas when it’s like me and Lewis, Daniel was just a little bit behind and obviously Daniel didn’t want to go past…