Norris “would do the same” as Verstappen in reporting yellow flag breach

Lando Norris says “I would do the same” as Max Verstappen if his rival had been speeding under double yellow flags, after he was penalised for the offence in Qatar.

The McLaren driver accepted that “I f***ed it up” after being given a 10s stop-go penalty during Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix, which dropped him from second to finishing an eventual 10th. 

Norris was tracking Verstappen’s Red Bull in a cat-and-mouse battle during the opening stint when yellow flags were waved on the pit straight for debris, a stray wing mirror from Alex Albon’s Williams.

Verstappen radioed his team to check if Norris had slowed under the yellows, after he reduced the leader’s advantage to 1.2 seconds, and following discussion between the stewards Norris was swiftly placed under investigation. 

Speaking afterwards, the Briton accepted that the penalty was legitimate if he had failed to heed yellow flags and admitted he would have done the same in raising the point if the shoe had been on the other foot.

“Good, good on him,” Norris responded when told that Verstappen had reported him. “That’s what everyone does. I would do the same.” 

Norris initially dropped to last after serving the penalty, before surging back into the points by passing Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber.

He also took fastest lap, but was disappointed to score only two points despite having what he described as “the quickest car out there today”. 

The result means Ferrari remains in contention to snatch the constructors’ title away from McLaren in next weekend’s Abu Dhabi season finale, with the papaya team holding a 21-point advantage despite Charles Leclerc beating Oscar Piastri to second.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, serves a penalty in the pit lane

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Confirming he would not seek to appeal the penalty, which he said was “correct” despite its draconian nature, Norris said: “Disappointed of course. 

“I’ve let the team down, the team gave me a great car today, easily the quickest out there, and I f***ed it up.

“I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m not an idiot, if there’s a yellow flag I know I need to slow down. That’s rule number one, you learn in go-karts.

“For some reason I didn’t do that today, because I’ve not seen it or I’ve missed it or something. So I have to take it on the chin.

“They think I’ve done something wrong, I must have done something wrong. And I can only apologise for the rest of the year to the team.”

Norris was also handed three penalty points on his license. The stewards’ document said: “The telemetry and on-board audio clearly showed that the driver of Car 4 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.”