Steven Tee/Motorsport Images
Norris wants F1 to ‘bin the rules’ on red flag tire changes
An outspoken Lando Norris wants Formula 1 to alter the rules so drivers can change tires without penalty under a red flag, following a frustrating Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver was well-placed in sixth after a good first stint on soft tires and came into the pits under the Safety Car after Mick Schumacher crashed, taking on a set of hard compound tires that would take him to the end of the race. The pit stop dropped him to 14th, but he was set to regain positions when other drivers needed to pit after the restart. Then, however, the race was red flagged to allow for barrier repairs, providing a free stop for all those ahead.
“I’ve got nothing to talk about!” Norris said. “I’ll just say the rules should get banned, and they should bin the rules, they should press delete a number of times until that line and paragraph is deleted and erased from history.
“I just got unlucky a lot of the time, the red flag ruined everything - basically everyone got ahead of me. And then even with the crashes, the one with (Sergio) Perez, I was on the left and I got unlucky again and I couldn’t go right, then everyone’s like kamikaze and crashing into each other.
“Just a long race to score one point but better than nothing, keeps me in the fight, so brilliant day," he added sarcastically.
Norris also insists it’s not only a response to Sunday’s race in Jeddah, but drivers have previously complained of the free pit stop scenario that a red flag offers.
“It’s possibly the worst rule ever invented by someone being able to change tires under red flag.
“We said it last year already. I’m not taking anything away from Pierre (Gasly) but with the Monza race last year, like Pierre got to change tires for free, I don’t know, I don’t feel like it’s deserved in a way.
“It’s just complete luck and luck that doesn’t need to be given to someone and that’s pretty much what it is - luck given to someone. It just ruined our race. It feels like you do so much just to get it all taken away. It sucks because the team did a good job. I thought the car was pretty decent. But it’s just crap, the rule ruins everything.”
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
Read Chris Medland's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.