Brundle on Norris penalty: F1 must 'tidy up' complex rules

Martin Brundle believes the sanction handed to McLaren's Lando Norris for "unsportsmanlike behaviour" in the Canadian Grand Prix shows that the sport's rule book needs "a tidy up and rationalization".

Norris was hit with a five-second penalty for slowing under the Safety Car regime to create a gap to his teammate Oscar Piastri to accommodate an upcoming double-stacked pitstop by the McLaren pair.

The maneuver was frowned upon by the stewards as they believed that it had impeded teh Williams of Alex Albon.

"But rather than invoking the rule that addresses a case of driving unnecessarily slowly, the officials referenced the FIA's International Sporting Code and the section that reads "any infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the results of a competition, in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics".

Unfortunately, the subsequent five-second penalty levied upon Norris dropped the McLaren driver out of the points as he was pushed from P9 down to P13.

"The stewards were being firm with the rules," commented Brundle in his post-race column for Sky.

"I often speak to them to understand these things and they always have data and rationale to go with their calls, there's no shooting from the hip involved. But, as with any referee system, there's a human judgment call.

"In the race, Lando Norris took a five-second penalty for backing off under the Safety Car to build a gap to his team-mate Oscar Piastri ready for a double-stacked pit stop.

• Read also: Norris left confused by 'unsportsmanlike' penalty

"I felt sure there was a clear rule about that so that a driver can't disadvantage all those behind while making their own pit stop faster, but the stewards had to use an umbrella rule about 'unsporting behaviour' to nail him.

"Even rival team managers were telling me post-race that it's been normal and accepted behaviour to build a small gap behind the Safety Car before a double team pit stop for a few years now, which indeed was Lando's firm view.

"Of course like any sport you need rules and a firm referee otherwise you quickly have chaos and anarchy, but I can't help but feel our constantly evolved and complex rules are ready for a tidy-up and rationalisation."

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was equally surprised by the stewards' call and especially by the inclusion of the words "unsportsmanlike behaviour" in their ruling. The Italian reckoned Norris' case was an attempt to set a new precedent regarding double-stacking.

"In reality, we went and spoke to the stewards right after the race because we thought these kinds of speeds under a safety car or even a virtual safety car shouldn't be a reasonable infringement," Stella explained.

"There's a possibility that the stewards want to set new references [regarding double-stacking]. We carry on discussing with them.

"We understand the position of the stewards. We understand that they may want to set a precedent so that there's a kind of new way of interpreting the way you have to drive under a safety car.

"If that's the approach, fine. But it's a bit of a shame that we are involved in this setting of a new precedent."

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