McLaren driver Lando Norris was handed a five-second penalty during the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix but did not face a grid drop for the following race, despite the incident. Norris had a difficult weekend after starting from seventh position, having made a costly error in the final qualifying session.
Beginning the race on hard tires, Norris held his position off the line but struggled to gain ground in the early laps. Toward the end of the race, he closed in on the leaders and found himself directly behind his McLaren teammate and competitor, Oscar Piastri.
After multiple unsuccessful attempts to overtake, Norris attempted a pass at the hairpin entering the back straight and was side-by-side on the DRS straight. However, on the start-finish straight, Norris went for an inside move, clipping the rear tires of Piastri’s car, which caused Norris to lose his front wing and ultimately forced him to stop his MCL39 due to front tire damage.
Race Officials’ Decision on Norris’ Penalty and Its Consequences
The race stewards confirmed the five-second time penalty, citing Norris’s classification in the race despite his crash as the reason for this decision. According to the officials, the penalty did not influence Norris’s final position and therefore did not warrant a grid drop at the next race.
The stewards noted that grid penalties are generally applied when a driver is unclassified and unable to serve a time penalty during the event. Since Norris was classified in the race results, the five-second penalty was considered to have
no immediate and obvious sporting consequence
.
Norris’ Reflections Following the Collision with Oscar Piastri
After the race, Norris openly acknowledged his mistake and apologized to both Piastri and the McLaren team for breaking the crucial team rule against contact between teammates. Reflecting on the incident, he said:
“Our number one rule is not to make contact with your teammate, and unfortunately, that is what happened today. I apologise to Oscar and the team. I thought I had a small opportunity, but with hindsight, I should never have gone for that move.”
—Lando Norris, McLaren Driver
“I’ve paid the price, and I’m glad nothing adverse happened to Oscar. I will put it behind me and learn from today’s mistake to come back stronger as a team in Austria,” Lando Norris added.
—Lando Norris, McLaren Driver
The crash proved costly for Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, as he lost 10 points and now trails Piastri by 22 points.
Implications and Outlook for Norris and McLaren
Norris’s penalty and subsequent statements highlight the tension within the team and the high stakes of intra-team battles in Formula 1. His acknowledgment of the error underlines the pressure to balance competitiveness with team harmony. As the season progresses toward Austria, McLaren will be aiming to minimize internal conflicts and maximize performance.
Norris’s ability to avoid a grid penalty ensures he will start the next race without additional setbacks, providing an opportunity to recover lost ground in the championship. Meanwhile, the stewards’ ruling sets a precedent regarding penalties when drivers are classified but still affected by on-track incidents late in the race.
