McLaren had hoped to get the stewards to look as soon as once more on the choice to penalise Norris for “unsportsmanlike behaviour” after he backed off to create a spot between himself and team-mate Oscar Piastri forward of a double stack cease at Montreal.
For the precise of evaluation to go forward beneath the FIA’s Worldwide Sporting Code, McLaren had wanted to submit a “vital, new and related” piece of data that was not out there to the stewards on the time of their choice.
McLaren submitted 4 items of proof that it felt fulfilled this criterion.
They have been:
Notes taken throughout the FIA Crew Managers assembly on June 30, 2023, and on different earlier events, which allegedly confirmed the understanding of the groups was that the alleged infringement shouldn’t be penalized
Proof that discussions following the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix held on the staff managers’ assembly in Canada 2019, led to an understanding that the sort of motion was acceptable.
Video, audio, GPS and timing proof of eight completely different situations the place automobiles made a spot that allegedly had a detrimental affect on a competitor and allegedly weren’t penalized.
And proof that Alex Albon, the automobile behind Norris, didn’t lose any positions on account of what Norris did.
The listening to on the Pink Bull Ring on Sunday heard proof from quite a lot of groups, together with Williams, Pink Bull Racing, Aston Martin and Alpine to get an image of whether or not or not McLaren’s proof needs to be accepted.
Ultimately, the FIA decided that the proof submitted by McLaren didn’t go far sufficient to deliver something new, vital and related to find out that the Norris incident needs to be checked out once more.
The stewards made it clear that there have been two major points at stake right here: that groups needed to comply with guidelines to the letter and couldn’t base their actions on gentleman’s agreements reached in personal conferences, plus different incidents that have been highlighted weren’t equivalent.
In a press release issued on Sunday, the FIA stated: “Discussions, casual “gents’s agreements” and so on can’t develop into binding until and till they discover their means into regulatory format, regardless of the nice intentions of the events involved.
“Officers might solely make clear, via the medium, for instance, of Race Administrators notes, sure issues, in accordance with Article 12.2.1.i. Such clarifications can’t contradict an current regulation.”
It added: “The citing of earlier circumstances is, in our view, irrelevant to this explicit case. While there are circumstances cited the place no penalty was utilized, and circumstances cited by Williams the place penalties have been utilized, every incident was completely different in some facet, albeit generally in a minor means.
“What’s most essential to notice is that the unique penalty was utilized in relation to what was thought-about an unfair motion. Not one of the circumstances cited, deal with that situation of unfairness.”
The FIA added that the matter was not topic to additional attraction.
“We respect the FIA and Stewards’ choice to uphold Lando Norris’ 5-second time penalty on the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix,” McLaren stated in a press release. “Nonetheless, we imagine that we supplied ample new, vital and related proof to warrant a ‘proper of evaluation’.
“We settle for the Stewards’ choice that this proof didn’t meet their necessities. While it isn’t the end result we hoped for, we thank the Stewards for his or her time and collaboration.”
