Why Norris Didn't Receive Penalty In Jeddah Despite Stewards Admitting He Jump Started

Sunday, 10 March 2024 at 00:15

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Lando Norris clearly jump-started the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and despite the stewards acknowledging that he was not given a penalty.

The second Grand Prix of the season had a very weird start for the British driver. Standing sixth on the grid, Norris quite clearly moved his McLaren before the lights went off.

Standing next to him on the grid, his good friend George Russell immediately noticed that the car with number 4 moved prior to the start of the race and reported it to his team via radio.

The stewards also noticed that Norris moved earlier than he should have, and they have noted the incident, and surprisingly, their decision was a positive one for the McLaren driver, as he wasn't penalized, allowing him to finish the race eighth.

After the race, all eyes turned to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), searching for the stewards' reasoning for a weird decision about Norris' jump-start.

Weirdly enough, FIA saw that car number 4 moved earlier than it should have, as they have rewatched the footage, which clearly showed that.

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"The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video and determined that the video appeared to show that Car 4 moved before the start signal was given."

However, the decision about a jump start is made based on the transponder, which is part of every F1 car on the grid, and since that didn't indicate a jump start, the penalty could not have been given.

"However, the FIA approved and supplied transponder fitted on the car did not indicate a jump start."

According to Article 48.1 a) of the Formula One Sporting Regulations, the decision about the jump start should be made based on the transponder, and since that didn't indicate anything illegal, the stewards made the decision not to give the British driver a penalty.