Saudi Arabia F1 GP, Lando Norris: ‘Nonsense rule ruined everything’

The first Saudi Grand Prix was a segmented race, with several periods of safety car, virtual safety car and red flags. For Lando Norris, the period when he first stopped racing ruined his race, as he stopped to change tires while the safety car was still on the track. As a result, he lost several positions and his opponents who did not stop yet were able to change tires without wasting time or positions.
This is the worst rule ever for Formula 1, says Lando Norris, referring to Pierre Gasly’s victory at Monza in 2020, when the Frenchman took advantage of a similar period to change tires. “Perhaps the worst rule anyone ever invented is the possibility of changing tires under a red flag.” The McLaren captain told Sky. “We said that last year, we’re not going to take anything away from Pierre, because people would probably say that’s what I’m trying to do, but with Monza last year Pierre was able to change tires without losing anything. I don’t feel he deserved it, it’s just luck. , a fortune that doesn’t need to be given to someone and that’s pretty much what it is, just given to someone. It ruined our sweat, I feel like it did so much just because it robbed me. It’s expensive, because the team did a good job, I thought the car was good, But this nonsense rule ruined everything. If Max [Verstappen] He won this race, I don’t know what happened in the first-round incident with the two, but if Max wins just because he got the free stop, I feel like Mercedes is going to complain.”
Norris eventually managed to recover from the back of the set and take a point for 10th, with teammate Daniel Ricciardo finishing fifth. “Better than nothing, on the side I was on, Daniel was lucky and finished fifth. If we both had stopped, it would have been one of the worst days imaginable for the team.”