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Lando Norris: McLaren appeal over Canadian GP penalty rejected by F1 stewards

Lando Norris was penalised for "unsportsmanlike conduct" after he was adjudged to have intentionally slowed down the cars behind him under a Safety Car at the Canadian Grand Prix; watch the Austrian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Sunday

RED BULL RING, AUSTRIA - JULY 01: Lando Norris, McLaren, after the Sprint shootout during the Austrian GP at Red Bull Ring on Saturday July 01, 2023 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images)
Image: Lando Norris was demoted from a points-scoring position at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix

McLaren's petition for right of review to the five-second penalty Lando Norris was given at the Canadian Grand Prix has been rejected by the stewards. 

The stewards decided that McLaren had failed to produce significant, new, relevant elements that had been unavailable to the team at the time of the decision.

Norris finished the June 18 race in ninth, but was demoted to 13th after the controversial penalty was applied following the chequered flag.

The Brit was adjudged by stewards to have driven in an "unsporting manner" when a Safety Car was deployed following George Russell's crash on lap 12.

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Highlights of the Canadian Grand Prix, the eighth race of the season.

Norris was behind team-mate Oscar Piastri on track, and was deemed to have slowed his pace in order to avoid losing time as McLaren pitted them both on the same lap.

With Safety Car conditions prohibiting overtaking, Norris was able to back off the throttle but maintain track position over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Williams' Alex Albon, who were stuck behind the McLaren.

In Sunday's hearing, which took place at the Red Bull Ring ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, representatives from Williams, Red Bull, Aston Martin and Alpine joined McLaren at the hearing.

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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects on the Canadian Grand Prix.

McLaren brought what they considered to be four new elements to the hearing. That included notes taken from a team managers meeting ahead held on Friday in Austria, discussions from 2019 following an incident at the Monaco Grand Prix, and examples of similar incidents going unpunished in the past.

However, these elements did not satisfy the requirement, in the eyes of the stewards, to be significant, new, relevant and also having been unavailable at the time of the original decision.

McLaren, who are unable to further appeal the decision, released a statement accepting the outcome.

"Whilst it is not the outcome we hoped for, we thank the Stewards for their time and appreciate their openness and transparency," the team said.

"We respect the FIA and stewards' decision to uphold Lando Norris' 5-second time penalty at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. However, we believe that we provided sufficient new, significant and relevant evidence to warrant a 'right of review'.

"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."

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