- Lando Norris keeps Miami sprint pole after clearing steward investigation.
- Stewards confirm no penalty for Norris following slowing incident probe.
- McLaren upgrades shine as Norris secures pole position in Miami.
Lando Norris was under investigation after beating Mercedes to secure a pole in Miami Sprint qualifying. However, the stewards have looked into the incident thoroughly and delivered a verdict that stands in Norris’ favour.
He successfully avoided a penalty for a slowing incident in the session. As the sport heads to the second Sprint race of the season, the order of the front and second row is as follows: Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, and Leclerc.
As the season began in Australia, McLaren was seemingly not in a very good place, as they appeared to be only fighting for points and not poles. This happened as they faced challenges, including electrical power unit failures, aerodynamic and efficiency issues.
These issues also cost them an entire race in the China GP, as none of the drivers raced. However, Miami seems to be promising for them as their upgrades appear to shine through.
Norris penalty threat at Miami sprint qualifying explained
The stewards flagged the world champion for an incident involving Nico Hulkunberg’s Audi. They reported that Norris appeared to be driving unnecessarily slowly at Turn 17 and blocked Audi.
If he were found guilty, then he could have attracted a penalty, which could have impacted his pole position. However, Norris has been cleared of the investigation already, with stewards citing the incident as a justified circumstance.
Here’s the verdict: “Car 1 (Norris) failed to stay below the required time limit as stipulated by the Race Director’s Competition Notes. Car 1 was within the approved delta time for almost the whole lap until just before Turn 17, where he was suddenly passed by Car 27.
“That then forced Car 1 to react to create a necessary and appropriate gap to set up a push lap. The Stewards considered this an extenuating circumstance and determined that he did not drive unnecessarily slowly.”
Norris on securing pole
After the Miami sprint qualifying, Norris addressed the excellent results and spoke about the latest car upgrades. He said, “[It] was great, perfect result for us. [A] nice way to reward the team. We’ve got a lot of new upgrades on the car so it’s nice to feel some grip again and nice to reward the guys and the girls that have put a lot of work into this.
He also expressed his love for Miami before acknowledging the good results and how it’s a nice start to the weekend, while being aware that there’s still a long way to go.
