FIA under fire amid safety fears over handling of chaotic Qatar Grand Prix

Formula 1’s embattled governing body the FIA has come in for further criticism for the race stewards’ handling of an incident that led to Lando Norris receiving a 10-second stop-go penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.

Norris was sanctioned for ignoring yellow flags after the wing mirror of Williams’ Alex Albon fell off on the pit straight, a decision which demoted him from second to 10th and hit McLaren’s hopes of winning the constructors’ title.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella called the penalty decision “a little too simplistic” and appeared to imply that the FIA’s recent firing of senior race officials had left people in charge who lacked the experience to make the right calls.

“We expect that applying such a severe penalty in this case will be reviewed by the FIA and there is certainly material for improvement,” he said.

“To me it looks like somewhere there must be a book with a lot of dust on the cover that was taken out: ‘Let me see what it says; let me apply this.’”

Race director Rui Marques was taking charge of only the second Grand Prix since his appointment last month. Predecessor Niels Wittich left abruptly, while senior steward Tim Mayer said he was fired by the FIA last week.  

A turbulent year which has also seen the departures of a sporting director, technical director, chief executive and compliance officer has raised questions for president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Stella did not dispute that Norris deserved a penalty but was not satisfied by the specificity and proportionality of the judgement. 

He added: “The specificity has to do with ‘what case are we actually considering? Is there an immediate danger for somebody? Is there a crash scene?’. This leads to proportion. The penalty needs to be commensurate, proportionate to the severity of the infringement.

“It’s interesting that the FIA themselves were going on and off with the yellow flag and at some stage it was even removed, which gives a sense how severe the situation was.”

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff backed his McLaren counterpart, saying: “Rationality needs to win and for me it doesn’t look like this at the moment.”

Bianchi lawyer calls for FIA explanation

The FIA defended the penalty handed to Norris, calling it “in accordance with guidelines circulated to the teams” ahead of the season. “A double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty.”

Albon’s wing mirror was eventually hit by Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, sending debris across the track which was suspected of causing punctures to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, before stewards eventually deployed the safety car.

Injury lawyer Christopher Deacon, who represented the family of F1 driver Jules Bianchi after his fatal crash in 2014, called the FIA’s handling of the incident “a cause for concern”.

Deacon, a Partner at UK law firm Stewarts, added: “Deciding to raise double yellow flags on the relevant section of track – and to heavily penalise Lando Norris for not slowing down sufficiently at the section – suggests a welcome safety-first approach. 

“But the subsequent decision not to take action to clear the track seems like the wrong one given the risk this poses to drivers of serious injury in the event of a loss of control, and the fact that multiple cars were then damaged, impacting the race result and leading to another safety car. 

“Formula 1 should now explain the reasons for the decision making by race officials at the Qatar Grand Prix and learn appropriate safety lessons to avoid putting drivers at risk in the future.”