F1's governing body rejects McLaren's appeal of Lando Norris penalty at Canadian GP

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Great Britain, takes a turn at the Senna corner during the third practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, June 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

SPIELBERG, Austria — Formula One's governing body has rejected McLaren's right of review request for the time penalty given to Lando Norris at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he dropped down from ninth to 13th place for driving deliberately slowly.

Following a review hearing on Sunday, which was held ahead of the Austrian GP and attended by two McLaren team representatives, the petition was rejected on the grounds that there was no new relevant element of information available to McLaren that wasn't at the time.

Only a relevant new element could have led to a second hearing taking place at a later date. Norris was handed a five-second penalty during the race in Montreal for what the stewards called "unsportsmanlike behaviour."

After Mercedes driver George Russell triggered a safety car by crashing into the wall and sending debris on the track, McLaren told its drivers Oscar Piastri and Norris to pit for new tires. Norris was then accused by stewards of driving deliberately slowly behind the safety car in order to create enough of a gap for McLaren to more easily change tires on both cars.

The time penalty dropped Norris down from ninth place and he lost two points.

"We believe that we provided sufficient new, significant and relevant evidence to warrant a 'right to review,"' McLaren said in a statement Sunday. "We accept the stewards' decision that this evidence did not meet their requirements. Whilst it is not the outcome we hoped for, we thank the stewards for their time and collaboration."