It’s Unfair” – Lando Norris Frustrated Carlos Sainz Was Reinstated into P3 in Monaco

Lando Norris has expressed his disappointment at the FIA’s decision to reinstate Carlos Sainz to third after the red flag at the Monaco Grand Prix. The race was halted on the opening lap due to an incident resulting in Sainz having a puncture caused by contact with Oscar Piastri, which sent the Ferrari driver crashing to the back of the grid. However, when the race resumed, Sainz was allowed to resume his original grid position of third.

The controversial decision of the FIA

The FIA justified the decision by claiming that it was not possible to determine the order of positions as not all cars passed the time limit of the first sector at Mirabeau. According to F1 sporting regulations, the restart order must be based on the last point where it was possible to determine the position of all the cars. This rule is intended to ensure fairness, but in this case, it caused controversy between managers and teams.

Pilots’ reactions

Lando Norris criticised the decision, describing it as unfair. “I don’t think it’s the fairest thing, but I’m sure there have been times in the past where I could have taken advantage of it,” Norris said. “If you think about it in a straightforward way, it’s frustrating and unfair because someone makes a mistake, and because of a certain number of cars or whatever the rule is, they don’t cross the line before the red flag, and blah, blah, he undoes that mistake and gets a free pit stop. It’s unfair.”

Mercedes driver George Russell also agreed with Norris, saying the decision was wrong. “I don’t know exactly what the rule is, but it was a little weird,” Russell said.

McLaren’s perspective

McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted the rules were applied correctly by the FIA, despite his team being at a disadvantage. “In terms of how the restart order was determined, I think what the FIA did was the best thing to do,” explained Stella. “This is also consistent with precedent where you use the second line of defence when sector time is not available. I don’t think using mini-sectors is a good way to do this.”

Stella also pointed out that luck was on Sainz’s side, not only with the restart order decision but also with the stewards’ lenient attitude to the incident at the first corner, which caused significant damage to Oscar Piastri’s car. “Like I said, Sainz was lucky today, which gave him a podium.”

The FIA’s decision to reinstate Carlos Sainz to third after a red flag at the Monaco Grand Prix sparked controversy and frustration among drivers and teams. While Lando Norris and George Russell criticised the decision as unfair, Andrea Stella admitted that the FIA followed the regulations despite her team’s defeat. This episode highlights the complexity of F1 rules and how they can affect the outcome of a race, generating discussions about fairness and sustainability in the sport.