F1’s governing body rejects McLaren’s appeal of Lando Norris penalty at Canadian GP #F1s #governing #body #rejects #McLarens #appeal #Lando #Norris #penalty #Canadian

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Formula One’s governing body has rejected McLaren’s right of review request for the time penalty given to Lando Norris at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he dropped down from ninth to 13th place for driving deliberately slowly.

Following a review hearing on Sunday, which was held ahead of the Austrian GP and attended by two McLaren team representatives, the petition was rejected on the grounds that there was no new relevant element of information available to McLaren that wasn’t at the time.

Only a relevant new element could have led to a second hearing taking place at a later date. Norris was handed a five-second penalty during the race in Montreal for what the stewards called “unsportsmanlike behavior.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris, of Britain, takes a turn at the Senna corner during the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix auto race Sunday, July 18, 2023, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Formula One’s governing body has agreed to hold a hearing to address McLaren’s request to review the time penalty given to Lando Norris at the Canadian Grand Prix.

After Mercedes driver George Russell triggered a safety car by crashing into the wall and sending debris on the track, McLaren told its drivers Oscar Piastri and Norris to pit for new tires. Norris was then accused by stewards of driving deliberately slowly behind the safety car in order to create enough of a gap for McLaren to more easily change tires on both cars.

The time penalty dropped Norris down from ninth place and he lost two points.

“We believe that we provided sufficient new, significant and relevant evidence to warrant a ‘right to review,’’’ McLaren said in a statement Sunday. “We accept the stewards’ decision that this evidence did not meet their requirements. Whilst it is not the outcome we hoped for, we thank the stewards for their time and collaboration.”