Stolen start: Why wasn’t Lando Norris penalized in Jeddah
As he moved before the lights went out in Saudi Arabia, Lando Norris was not penalized. The stewards have explained themselves.
Everyone saw it. Everyone thought he would be penalized. But no. At the start, Lando Norris took off before the lights went out, then stopped and went again once they were off.
An investigation was opened by the FIA stewards, but it did not result in a penalty. In a document, they explained the absence of sanctions. “The stewards examined the data from the positioning and signaling system, as well as the video footage, and determined that the video appeared to show that car 4 had moved before the start signal was given,” they start.
« However, the approved transponder provided by the FIA and installed on the car did not indicate an early start. Article 48.1 a) of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations clearly states that the decision of whether there was an early start or not should be based on the transponder, which did not indicate [this]. In these circumstances, we are not taking any further action. »
Therefore, due to the lack of information from the transponder, the officials were unable to penalize him, even though the images clearly showed that the British driver had jump-started.
