FIA explain why they dismissed McLaren's 'Right to Review'
F1 News
McLaren' s appeal for a review of Lando Norris ' penalty has been rejected by the FIA. The McLaren driver was given a penalty for leaving the track during an overtaking move on Max Verstappen. The constructor has also already come out with a response to the FIA's decision. This is why Norris' formation's protest was rejected.
The FIA have explained why they have dismissed McLaren's 'Right to Review' that they lodged regarding Lando Norris' penalty he received at the United States Grand Prix. The papaya-coloured team were hoping to use some new evidence to overturn the penalty given to the British driver with their appeal, but F1's governing body have rejected it.
Norris was given his penalty after an incident with championship rival Max Verstappen on lap 52 at the Circuit of The Americas. After Norris was judged to have overtaken Verstappen off the track, a five-second penalty headed his way, meaning he moved back behind Verstappen who took P3. McLaren believed that there was new evidence to be looked at by the FIA to change their decision, hence the appeal for a 'Right of Review.'
For a right of review, new evidence must be provided by the relevant team, and that evidence must meet four requirements. The evidence must be significant, relevant, new and not previously available. McLaren provided evidence saying that there had been an error in the stewards' document.
Last week's document stated that Norris was overtaking Verstappen, but the British explained on Friday at the Mexican Grand Prix that their driver was already ahead of the Dutchman, according to the FIA document. Andrea Stella, McLaren's team boss, was also present at the event, with the Italian explaining to FIA how important the case was for the team.
Jonathan Wheatley was present on behalf of Red Bull Racing, and he explained that McLaren's new evidence did not meet any of the four criteria. Based on the McLaren word against the Red Bull word, the FIA made a decision, and their conclusion was that the stewards did not think Norris' overtaking action on Verstappen was already complete when he went off track. McLaren have already made a comment on the matter, saying that they still do not agree with the decision.
Document from the FIA regarding McLaren's protest
This article was created in collaboration with Estéban den Toom
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