Lando Norris has urged the FIA to stop overtaking attempts counting towards track limit violations amid the penalty he received in the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Norris was engaged in a tense battle with Verstappen over the race lead in the closing stages last weekend when a collision with seven laps to go wrecked his hopes.
However, the Briton’s win chances would have been dashed regardless as it occurred that he was given a five-second time penalty over excessive track limit breaches.
Norris had overstepped the white line that defined the limits around the track three times when a failed passing move on Lap 59 saw him go wide and leave the track.
But although he lost time in going deep and returned the lead to Verstappen, the occurrence still counted as the McLaren racer’s fourth offence and he was penalised.
Regarding the outcome that would prove inconsequential to his overall race result, Norris said: “I got the five seconds for trying to overtake and then not going correctly.
“I didn’t even know I had the five-second penalty.
“I didn’t even know why, we served the five-second penalty before we retired the car – I didn’t even know that’s what we did until after the race!
“So that’s just common sense. That’s pretty silly to be honest. I’ve tried to do an overtake, I’ve locked up, I’ve gone off the track – just – I’ve had to then avoid the sausage kerb.
“But immediately I gave the position back to Max, I’ve probably lost a second and a half doing that, it’s a clear penalty. I’ve lost out in doing such a thing. It’s just silly.
“Those types of things will avoid people racing. If you don’t want us to race and don’t want me to try and ever overtake, and you want a boring race, then you can have these rules.
“But I’m sure it’s something that has already been brought up, because there’s a difference between going off track and gaining an advantage – and it’s the gaining an advantage bit that is the most important – and then there’s the going off because you’ve made a silly mistake, you’ve not judged something perfectly.
“But the fact that I’ve been punished for that, especially in a racing situation, especially when I’ve given up even more time, just doesn’t make sense.
“So something I hope they fix quickly, because I think it’s pretty stupid.”
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda concurred with Norris’ view that how track limits are policed during races requires a review, citing that he encountered a similar experience in Spain.
“I need to see that occasion but it sounds a bit ridiculous, because I think it was Barcelona where I went wide in Turn 1 I was battling with another car and I got forced wide, and obviously I took the run-off road to rejoin to the track, went round the bollard, and I found they took it as track limits,” he highlighted.
“I didn’t get anything obviously, I let the car past and in the end I rejoined the car behind.
“But I had that on two occasions and they counted that as track limits, so that to be honest is a bit… I can’t understand why they used that as track limits.”
However, the Japanese driver has been adamant that he will not alter his approach to racing other cars and has also stressed that it is an issue for the FIA to deal with.
“I would do exactly the same thing,” he added. “Keep doing the same because it’s just ridiculous, they can’t count that as track limits, it’s ridiculous.
“It’s pretty clear that we didn’t gain anything, and what do you want me to do other than that?
“To be honest even if they called us to the stewards and I did three strikes and after the race said ‘Oh you did track limits’ then yeah.
“But clearly I was battling with them and I got forced wide, what do you want me to do? You can’t just keep the car in the track without penalty.”
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