Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
Lando Norris felt it was “unfair” how the FIA rulebook allowed Carlos Sainz to reclaim his P3 position in Monaco, while McLaren boss Andrea Stella called him “lucky Carlos” for that and escaping punishment after damaging Oscar Piastri’s car.
Sainz and Piastri tangled at the first corner of the Monaco GP as they battled over P2, Sainz picking up a puncture in the process and coming to a stop which promoted Piastri’s team-mate Norris to P3, or so he thought.
Lando Norris calls Carlos Sainz situation ‘frustrating and unfair’
As Sergio Perez collided with the two Haas cars, causing a major crash, the situation became more chaotic. As a result, the red flags were raised. Meanwhile, Zhou Guanyu from Sauber had not yet completed the first sector of the race. According to the regulations, the restart order was determined from the last point where the positions of the remaining cars were established, which happened to be the safety car two line.
This meant that Sainz had the opportunity to switch to a set of hard tires and continue the Monaco GP in the third position, where he ultimately finished. This action, however, annoyed Norris.
According to Norris, “I believe it may not be entirely fair, but there have been instances in the past where I may have benefited from it and they made some adjustments to the car or something like that.”
“It’s frustrating and unfair when you consider it straightforwardly. It doesn’t seem right that someone can make a mistake, and due to a certain number of cars or the specific rule, they are allowed to rectify their error with a free pit stop. It’s simply unjust.”
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However, despite Norris’s displeasure with what he saw as a stroke of luck, his McLaren boss Stella pointed out another incident that puzzled him. Stella expressed confusion over the stewards’ decision not to penalize Sainz for the Piastri incident, as well as the investigation into impeding during qualifying, which also involved Alex Albon.
Stella drew a comparison between the current situation and the incident at Imola, where Piastri received a grid penalty of three places for obstructing Kevin Magnussen.
Despite Sainz’s collision with Piastri in the Monaco GP, the latter was able to persist and secure a commendable P2 finish. Stella acknowledged that the damage caused to Piastri’s McLaren resulted in a loss of approximately half a second per lap. However, they managed to reduce this impact by about half through repairs made during the red flag interruption.
Stella confessed that she believed the FIA made the right decision when it came to determining the restart order.
Furthermore, adhering to the established precedent, it is recommended to utilize safety car line two when sector times are unavailable. However, I believe utilizing mini sectors as an alternative method is not an ideal approach for this purpose.
Clearly, Carlos was fortunate as Zhou had not yet crossed the sector time when the race was halted.
In my opinion, he had good fortune today, along with a lenient response from the stewards. The collision in corner one clearly caused considerable damage to Oscar’s car, which echoes the previous day’s investigation regarding impeding. It is worth noting that Sainz was not penalized for impeding Alex Albon in that incident.
As I mentioned, Carlos was fortunate enough to secure a podium position.
“We are pleased for him, but given the events of yesterday, we are still slightly perplexed by the contrast between yesterday and Imola.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc emerged victorious in the race as the top five drivers managed to run from the restart to the chequered flag on a single set of tyres, thanks to the removal of the obligatory in-race pit-stop requirement during the red flag period.
Norris acknowledged that apart from the objective of preserving the tires until the end, there wasn’t much else to strive for. He also extended his congratulations to his teammate Piastri for achieving his maiden F1 podium.
Norris told Sky F1 that although Monaco usually lacks excitement, the red flag further simplified the situation and made it even less eventful than usual.
“Our team achieved a favorable outcome, which is great. The race didn’t offer many opportunities to strive for, as the main goal was to preserve the tires and avoid errors. Although it may sound straightforward, we managed to secure a fourth and second place, which is quite impressive. Congratulations to Oscar for his podium finish, especially in a prestigious location like Monaco.”
Norris had a close opportunity to make a pit stop as George Russell from Mercedes fell over 20 seconds behind in 5th place. However, Norris believed that the risk of losing track position in Monaco made it not worth taking the chance.
Norris expressed, “The situation was delicate, with some small chances. However, even a slightly delayed stop or any mishap just didn’t justify the effort.”
While it can be beneficial at times, there are always potential risks associated with such actions. If Carlos admits to making a small mistake or even lightly touching the barrier, you might also think, “We should have refrained from doing it altogether.”
“It is always difficult to accurately answer the question of what you could have done differently or if you should have done something else.”
“Despite our limitations, I believe we gave our best effort. The car displayed impressive speed today, which is a promising sign for the future. In recent races, we have consistently demonstrated great strength.”
“So, we will continue our efforts and persevere. Although I may not be entirely satisfied, achieving a fourth and a second place is still an outstanding accomplishment for us.”
Norris sits P3 in the Drivers’ Championship and 56 points behind leader Max Verstappen after the Monaco GP.
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