The FIA has released a statement explaining a string of controversial decisions made by race control and the stewards at the Qatar Grand Prix. Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were among the drivers penalised throughout the weekend.
Rui Marques took over from the departing Niels Wittich after the Brazilian Grand Prix and after a relatively smooth debut weekend in Las Vegas, the new race director has found himself at the centre of more unwanted controversy for the FIA.
Verstappen was hit with a rare one-place grid penalty after qualifying on pole position, while Norris received a brutal 10-second stop-and-go penalty for failing to lift under double-waved yellow flags. This punishment was a silver bullet for Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship title fight.
Explaining Norris’ penalty, which was even criticised by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, the FIA stated: “The penalty was in accordance with the penalty guidelines circulated to the teams on 19 February 2024.
“A double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty.”
One of the biggest controversies of the weekend pertained to the handling of the debris caused by Alex Albon‘s wing mirror dislodging and falling onto the start-finish straight.
It was the cause of the double-waved yellows that caught out Norris, and when it was run over by Valtteri Bottas, it sprayed shards of debris across the track.
Typically, race control would call out a virtual safety car, or even a full safety car in this situation, but Marques opted to leave the zone under yellow conditions for an extended period of time.
“Normal practice is for the safety car not to be deployed if there is a small amount of debris, and off the racing line, » the statement from the FIA explained.
“The extensive debris after a car hit the mirror and the punctures that occurred shortly after forced the decision on a safety car A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain spread out and there is not sufficient time for a marshal to clear the debris.”
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