Norris accepts “fair” stop-go penalty but says he saw no yellow flags · RaceFans

Lando Norris said he didn’t see any yellow flags after he was penalised for failing to slow in reaction to them during the Qatar Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was given a 10-second stop-go penalty, one of the strongest sanctions the stewards can apply, for failing to slow for double waved yellow flags.

The yellow flags were displayed when a piece of debris was spotted on the pit straight approaching turn one. The mirror, which fell from the right-hand side of Alexander Albon’s was left untouched for several laps during which race control initially displayed yellow flags, then withdrew them.

Norris said he was unaware the yellow flags were displayed. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong at the minute under the yellow,” he told Sky.

“I’m not an idiot. If I knew there was a yellow I would have slowed down. I don’t know if I missed it or just been dumb.”

However he said he had no concerns over the penalty. “The rule is, if you don’t slow down in the yellow, that’s a penalty,” he said. “So it’s a fair penalty.”

Norris was running second at the time of his infringement. His penalty meant Ferrari reduced McLaren’s lead in the constructors’ championship, which will be decided in the final race next week.

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“Of course it’s an opportunity missed, that’s quite obvious,” said Norris.

“The team gave me a great car today, so I’m thankful for the team. Disappointed that I couldn’t have done a worse job than I did today and not give them the points they deserved so I’ve made the job of the team much harder than it needs to be. The team are doing a great job but I’ve let them down.”

The stewards gave Norris three penalty points on his licence for the incident, which are his first three of the current 12-nonth period.

“The telemetry and on-board audio clearly showed that the driver of car four [Norris] did not make any reduction in speed in the yellow sector. The double waved yellow flags and yellow lights were clearly visible to him.

“Compliance with the yellow flag rules is paramount for the safety of all parties and this requirement is clearly noted in the first item of the race director’s event notes at every event.”

This article will be updated.

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