The FIA has officially rejected McLaren’s appeal to overturn the five-second penalty given to Lando Norris during the United States Grand Prix, affirming the stewards’ initial decision. Norris, penalized for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 12 on Lap 52 while battling with Max Verstappen, will see his fourth-place result stand despite McLaren’s attempt to present new evidence.
Initially, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella accepted the penalty after the race at Circuit of the Americas, but on Thursday, the team made a surprising U-turn, filing a “right of review” with the FIA. McLaren argued that they possessed “significant” new evidence to challenge the ruling, contending that Verstappen was, in fact, the overtaking driver during the incident.
At a Friday video conference held during the Mexico City GP, McLaren presented this new evidence, claiming that Norris had completed the overtake before Turn 12’s apex, effectively positioning Verstappen as the pursuing car. The stewards, however, found McLaren’s assertion “unsustainable,” ruling that no significant new element had been presented that would warrant overturning their initial decision.
The FIA statement read, “A petition for review is made to correct an error in a decision. In this case, the assertion that an error in the decision was a new element is not sustainable and is, therefore, rejected.”
With the penalty upheld, the final standings from the United States GP remain unchanged, with Verstappen in third and Norris in fourth. This decision leaves Norris trailing Verstappen by 57 points in the Drivers’ Championship with five races remaining in the 2024 season.
