Lando Norris would like more strictness in the promotion formulas
McLaren driver Lando Norris believes that stewards are too lax in the junior formulas, unlike those present in Formula 1, whereas, according to him, the opposite should be applied.
The controversy over the penalties imposed on drivers for certain race maneuvers has been the common thread of this season, with the climax being the battle between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at the Canadian Grand Prix, which resulted in a penalty for the German, deemed harsh by some observers.
More recently in the season and at the request of the drivers, the race stewards have been more lenient and have allowed drivers to battle in a sometimes rough manner, such as Max Verstappen’s maneuver on Charles Leclerc in the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix or the tenacious defense by the Monegasque against Lewis Hamilton during the last Italian Grand Prix.
On this subject, Lando Norris, a newcomer to the grid this season, thinks it’s rather a good thing to let drivers fight freely in Formula 1. However, he would like race stewards to be stricter in the feeder series to accustom drivers to behave more responsibly once they reach Formula 1: In some championships, there have been times when drivers may not have been punished enough. To really make an impact, sometimes a five-place grid penalty or three places would be needed, whereas sometimes it’s just a verbal warning from the stewards.
A lack of severity that then gives drivers bad habits: « It should be more educational in the lower categories and freer to do what you want in Formula 1, knowing that what you learned in the past will serve you, rather than being too lax and saying “oh yes, but they are young” and then having penalties in Formula 1. It should be the opposite. Start with lots of rules and be a bit freer in Formula 1 afterwards. » judges the McLaren driver.
