Adam Cooper F1

Lando Norris says he’s moved on from his contentious yellow flag penalty in Qatar – but he fears that could yet be a “bad consequence” if McLaren misses out on the Formula 1 constructors’ title due to the lost points.

Norris was given a 10 second stop and go penalty for not slowing when yellow flags were shown after Ale Albon’s mirror was left lying on the track on the approach to Turn 1.

He initially dropped out of the top 10 but recovered to take 10^th place and the fastest lap point – however Ferrari was able to significantly close the gap to just 21 points heading into the final race.

“I was disappointed,” said Norris when asked by this writer about putting the penalty behind him. “I wasn’t happy with myself on Sunday night, but I’ve not been down or anything over the last few days.

“It’s been nice that we can come here and focus already on the final weekend of the season. And there’s a lot of focus on it.

“There’s not been a bad consequence of what’s happened, it might be on Sunday afternoon I feel the consequence more so, but we’re working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, and I don’t feel the real pain of last weekend.”

Norris insisted that it was impossible for him to have seen the yellow light on the straight.

“There was no yellow lights that I passed,” he said. You can say that there was one, but no chance any driver can see that. So I mean, not ideal. Obviously, I was pretty disappointed. I let a lot of people down, but it happened. It’s in the past.

“I’ve apologised to the team. I would never want something like that to happen. Normally, I think, pretty good with those kind of things, and we never take the risk and normally be on the safer side of things. #

“So it was just unfortunate, difficult to see the yellow flags in the dark and that kind of thing. Just a shame, but it’s happened, and I feel like I moved on pretty well from it.”

Asked about the scale of the penalty he said: “I’m going to have to accept the penalty for what it was. Yes, that’s the ruling. For what the safety measures were. You know, in an ideal world, maybe there could be some differences. I get why there’s a such a severe penalty for it, but no people were in danger. It wasn’t like there was someone on track.

“It was a wing mirror. And if it’s something so severe, the race should be stopped, like a VSC or a safety car, then cleared, then continued. Double yellow is be prepared to stop.

“No one’s prepared to stop when you’re going 300 kph, not one driver on the grid is prepared to stop. I think there’s something completely separate to actually what happened? I didn’t see the yellow flag, and I got the penalty, and I paid the price.

“But I think everyone can agree that what it was is severe for what you see, and what the actual danger was. But the rule is the rule.”

Norris denied that there’s any extra pressure on McLaren this weekend

“There’s a lot of external pressure, but I think within the team, not a lot changes. There’s been pressure the whole season to perform and to do well, there’s been pressure the whole season for me as a driver, to perform well, especially the second half of the year.

“I feel like I’ve been doing that, but it’s more external pressure that I think people have to deal with.

“And that’s engineers, mechanics and things like that. I’m sure everyone within the team feels a little bit more nervous coming into the final race, but at the same time, nothing should change.

“Nothing needs to change. The job we’ve been doing is very good. I’m proud of the whole team, and we just continue doing the same as what we have been doing.”

Max Verstappen says he has no regrets on any comments he made either to George Russell directly or to the media in the wake of the FIA stewards’ hearing in Qatar.

He also accused the Mercedes driver of “lying” in the stewards’ hearing that led to him being sanctioned.

Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty after being found to have driven excessively slowly in Q3 and hampered Russell.

After winning the race Verstappen told the media that Russell had actively tried to get him a penalty and that he had never seen a fellow driver act that way.

Although he didn’t reference it himself after the hearing Verstappen had threatened to put Russell “on his head” at the first corner should he receive a penalty.

Asked by this writer on Thursday in Abu Dhabi if he had any regrets about anything he said Verstappen was unrepentant.

“No regrets at all, because I meant everything I said,” he said. “And it’s still the same. If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race result. I still can’t believe that someone can be like that in a stewards’ room.

“For me, that was so unacceptable, because I mean, we’re all racing drivers. We all have a lot of respect for each other. We even play sports together. You travel together. And of course, you have moments where you get together, you crash or whatever.

“You’re not happy. In my whole career, I’ve never experienced what I have experienced in the stewards’ room in Qatar. And for me, that was really unacceptable.”

Asked if Russell being a director of the GPDA and thus a representative of all the drivers Verstappen said that had no impact on his thinking.
 
“No, it has nothing to do with him being the director of the GPDA. I just never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about why I was doing what I was doing.

“But clearly, it had an influence to them. Yeah, it was just really not nice, and actually very shocking what was going on there.”

Regarding the way he reported Lando Norris for not slowing for yellows in Sunday’s race he said: “It was just a normal question. I mean, I knew that I lifted, and I suddenly look in the mirror, and I saw that the gap closed up a lot.

“So I just asked, did he lift or not, just to double check. Of course, sometimes with yellow flags, some people lift more than others. And yeah, you can gain some tens here or there. I luckily tried to play it safe, and then just asked and see the outcome of it.”

Franco Colapinto says that it was “quite stupid” for rivals to take risks at the start of the Qatar GP.

The Williams driver was collected at the first corner by Esteban Ocon, who had in turn been hit by Nico Hulkenberg, the German having struggled for grip on the hard tyre.

Colapinto and Ocon were out on the spot, while Hulkenberg was able to continue.

The significance for Colapinto was not only did his FW46 sustain more damage he also lost of his last two remaining chances of 2024 to demonstrate his potential.

“It’s very disappointing, I just got taken out at T1, and nothing I could do really,” he said when asked by this writer about his brief race.

“It’s quite frustrating. In T1, starting on the back from P18/19, it’s quite stupid to risk it so much, and I left a very big gap on the inside.

“And they still drove into the side of me. So nothing I could do, We’ll try to understand how we can fix the car for Abu Dhabi, that’s going to be the most important point.”

The high attrition rate made an early retirement even more frustrating.

“It’s not the best situation,” he said. Looking at the race as well, it looked quite exciting. So it would have been quite nice to be there, and trying to fight for points. But it’s part of racing, and unfortunately it didn’t go as planned today.

“Sometimes you have these ups and downs. As Alex, we both had a pretty tough couple of races, and I think the most important thing is try to end up strong in Abu Dhabi, and finish the year on a high.

“We are going to try to fix the car the best we can, and try to go with the best package possible to Abu Dhabi.”

Colapinto acknowledged that it was frustrating to be robbed of one of his last two chances to impress potential future employers.

“Especially to be taken out in Turn 1,” he said. “It’s always the most frustrating, because you cannot really do anything. I didn’t get to do one corner. It’s just disappointing, especially with the race.

“We all thought it was going to be a bit of a boring race, and at the end, it was very exciting, and it opened a lot of opportunities for everyone. So it’s part of racing. Sometimes it doesn’t go as you want.”

Liam Lawson insists that a scrappy Qatar GP won’t impact his future prospects despite it coming just as Red Bull makes up its mind about who will replace Sergio Perez in 2025.

Lawson spun at the first safety car restart in Qatar, forcing Valtteri Bottas off the road. He subsequently received a 10-second penalty.

Later in the race both he and team mate Yuki Tsunoda were switched to soft tyres in an attempt to find some performance.

However that gamble didn’t pay off, and they finished 13^th and 14^th, with the Japanese driver ahead.

The result dropped the team further away from Alpine and Haas in the battle for sixth in the constructors’ table.

Lawson remains favourite to land the RBR seat, and he insists that one frustrating Sunday won’t impact his future.

“Honestly, nothing’s really changed from where I sit,” he said when asked by this writer about the unfortunate timing.

“We had some positives this weekend. Sprint quali was strong for us, and obviously yesterday, we struggled more in quali.

“But after the spin to be honest we caught the field and had okay pace. So there’s points to take away from it, but overall we didn’t have the package this weekend to fight against the teams we need to fight against.”

Lawson took full responsibility for the Bottas incident, apologising to the Finn when they met in the media pen after the race.

“It was just my bad,” he said. “I thought we had really good temperature to be honest, like I worked a lot the tyres on the restart, under the safety car, went for a move and half way around the corner, I realised I was sliding up the track towards him.

“And at that point, I just tried to get out of it honestly, because I was about to hit him. So I tried to check up and spun the car. I don’t know if we touched, I guess we did, but that was on me.”

He added: “Obviously, he did nothing wrong. I didn’t expect him to stay out there, to be honest. And because he did, obviously I was sliding up the track. But it was my fault.”

Lawson admitted that the soft tyre gamble didn’t work.

“I think we weren’t going to score points from where we were. So we just tried something soft. Softs obviously didn’t work.

“We had a small issue as well that we were managing at the end. But, yeah, it’s just been a tough day. But honestly, I put ourselves in that position when I spun the car.”

Lewis Hamilton admits that he doesn’t anticipate a competitive package for his final outing for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi – and he’s indicated that goes into the race weekend with “low hopes.”

Hamilton had a frustrating time in Qatar, citing his personal lack of speed after both the sprint and main qualifying sessions.

In Sunday’s Grand Prix he picked up a penalty for a false start, had a puncture, and then earned another penalty for pitlane speeding.

At one stage he suggested that he wanted to retire the car, but in the end he stayed out, finishing out of the points in 12th place.

“It could have been worse, but I finished, and it’s over,” he said when asked by this writer about his difficult race.

“Ultimately that was me at the start, and then the puncture was really unfortunate. And the pit lane, that was me as well. You do your best, but I’ll get back up tomorrow and give it another shot.”

He also struggled with a lack of front end, with his engineer Peter Bonnington referencing an “under balance” early in the race.

“The under balance is literally just because we didn’t get the wing setting right,” said Hamilton. “This happened many times, just basically not having enough front wing in the car, and the car just wouldn’t turn.

“So understeering massively for a long period of time. And I think that honestly, for me, felt like that’s what led to the tyre failing.

“But maybe it was debris. I didn’t see any debris, to be honest, but not ideal. It happened just as I got to the pit entrance.”

Hamilton made it clear that he doesn’t expect what it likely to be an emotional farewell to Mercedes in Abu Dhabi to see a step forward.

“I don’t think we’re going to end up on a high,” he said. “I think it’ll end. And I think what’s important is how we turn up. We’ll give it our best shot. And I don’t anticipate a particularly much better weekend than we’ve had in the past weekends.

“But naturally, I’ll try, but go in with low hopes and come out with a better result, then it doesn’t really make a big difference either way. I think these last races don’t have an impact on everything we’ve done together.”

Asked if Qatar was a season low point he added: “There’s been loads of them to be honest, so it’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions.

“But I’m just grateful I’m still standing, and I’m still okay. I’ve had great races in my life, and I’ve had bad races in my life. Not too many bad ones.”

Carlos Sainz agrees that Ferrari has “nothing to lose” heading into the Formula 1 constructors’ title showdown with McLaren in Abu Dhabi.

After last weekend’s race in Qatar the team is now only 21 points behind its British rival, with up to 44 to be won with a one-two finish and a fastest lap.

Sainz feared last weekend that it would be “mission impossible” if Ferrari didn’t eat into McLaren’s advantage on race day in Qatar.

However a second place for Charles Leclerc and sixth for Sainz himself kept the fight open.

“I think it’s still going to be tough,” said the Spaniard when asked by this writer about the team’s prospects. “Twenty-one points requires a perfect weekend from Ferrari and a bad weekend from McLaren.

“But we’ve seen worse things in racing, so we’re going to give it our best shot. I think if we nail a good weekend, we could still make it happen.”

Asked if Ferrari had nothing to lose he said: “Exactly. That’s why we’re going to give it our absolute best, nothing to lose. We’re going to throw everything in to make sure we give ourselves the best chance.”

Sainz had a messy Qatar GP that saw him forced to complete a full lap with a punctured front tyre, but thanks to attrition elsewhere he managed to climb back to sixth by the flag.

“I think we couldn’t have got it worse,” he said. “We had a puncture pretty much coming out of the last corner, or around the last sector. It meant I needed to do a full lap on a punctured tyre, losing a lot of race time. Then we had a slow pit stop during that slow puncture.

“And then as soon as I came out of the pits, they put the safety car, so everyone can take the stop. And I’ve lost all that time with the puncture and the pit stop under racing conditions. And then a safety car comes out exactly while I’m exiting the pit. So it couldn’t have been any worse.

“At the same time, I started P6 I finished P6 with everything that happened, and I had to race, probably with some damage in the car for the rest of the race.

“A bit of a nightmare day, and bringing home a P6 maybe it’s not as terrible as it now feels, but at least the other car could get maximum points available for Charles. It’s damage limitation, with everything that happened.”

Sainz believes that several factors contributed to the puncture, which happened just after Valtteri Bottas ran over Ale Albon’s lost mirror.

“I think it was a bit of a perfect storm,” he said. “I think everyone was running very low on the front left tyre in terms of tread. I think no one had much tread left. This exposes, obviously the tyre and the carcass to a puncture, and then the sharp kerbs, the gravel on the track, the debris, it could have been any of them, the cause of the puncture, we will never know.

“I just know that I caught the worst of it because I had to do a full lap with a puncture, plus a slow pit stop, plus the damage, plus the safety car when I came out of the pits.

“We managed to bring the fight into the next race. At the same time, on my side of the garage, we would have finished P4, P3 depending on the race scenario, so we lost points that might be crucial for the end of the championship.

“But at the same time if they tell you you’re going to start the race P6, you’re going to have a puncture, then they’re going to put a safety car when you have finished the puncture, and you’re still going to finish P6, you maybe don’t even believe it!”

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda effectively have one race in which to stake their respective claims to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing in 2025.

Should his departure be confirmed sources indicate that Lawson is set to get the job, but the final decision won’t be made until after the Abu Dhabi race.

Christian Horner has given the clearest signal yet that the team has reached the end of the road with the Mexican, and that he won’t be retained next season.

His Qatar weekend included a sluggish reaction to the pitlane traffic light going green at the start of Saturday’s sprint, and he was passed by Franco Colapinto.

Perez said he was trying to ensure clean air as the race was a test session, but the team was unaware of his plan.

In Sunday’s main race he spun just before the safety car restart, and suffered a clutch failure as he tried to get going.

Perez is understood to have a contract with no performance clauses on the team’s side, and thus ending it early is set to be an expensive exercise for Red Bull.

“Checo has had a very tough year, and obviously the points tables are what they are,” he said after the race.

“We’re very much focused on really supporting him to the to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, and then obviously it’s not an enjoyable situation for Checo being in this position, with speculation every week.

“He’s old enough and wise enough to know what the what the situation is, and let’s see where we are after Abu Dhabi.”

Asked by this writer about the traffic light issue he said: “I mean, we sent him to the end of the pit lane seven minutes ahead of Colapinto for a reason.

“But look, Checo has contributed a huge amount to this team in the four years that he’s been here. You know the world championship that Max achieved in ‘21, the constructors his World Championships in ‘22 and ’23, and obviously this year has been particularly hard.

“He’s won five Grands Prix for us, and he’s had some outstanding performances in races like Singapore, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, to name but a few. Everybody holds Checo in the highest of regard and respect.

“But obviously, the situation that we’re in is as painful for him as it is for the team.”

He added: “I’m going to let Checo come to his own conclusions. Nobody’s forcing him one way or another. It’s not a nice situation for him to obviously be in.”

“We got one more race this year, so we’ll throw everything at it. And hopefully he can have a strong race to end the season in Abu Dhabi.”

Red Bull’s problem is with whom to replace him having declined to take Carlos Sainz when he was free in the first half of the year and Perez has not yet been re-signed.

Liam Lawson’s was given the VCARB seat in place of Daniel Ricciardo to give him a chance to prove he was ready for promotion, but then the Franco Colapinto’s arrival on the scene made the Williams driver a candidate.

That would have involved a hefty buyout of his contract – said to be as much as $20m – which would potentially be compensated by sponsorship from Argentina. However after his crashes in Brazil and Las Vegas interest in him has faded.

Horner has indicated that the team is now focussing on its own talent pool.

Lawson has done a solid job, but arguably not quite enough to prove that he is a clear first choice over Yuki Tsunoda, who will test for Red Bull in Abu Dhabi net week.

Tsunoda is regarding in the RBR camp as not being consistent enough to take on the challenge of being Verstappen’s team mate, despite his obvious speed.

Isack Hadjar, who has a chance to win the F2 title in Abu Dhabi, remains the logical candidate for any vacant VCARB seat.