Lando Norris Penalized at Bahrain Grand Prix After Verstappen Flags….read more
Lando Norris was handed a five-second time penalty by the FIA following a false start incident during the Bahrain Grand Prix, an infraction first noticed and reported by reigning World Champion Max Verstappen. Starting from sixth on the grid, Norris launched off the line spectacularly and surged up to third by the end of the opening lap, overtaking key rivals including Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. However, his rapid getaway drew attention from Verstappen, who had started from seventh and immediately radioed his Red Bull team to raise concerns over Norris’ start procedure.
The stewards reviewed the footage and telemetry and determined that Norris had indeed jumped the start, resulting in the penalty that would later compromise his race. Despite this early setback, Norris’ pace was impressive in the initial stages, capitalizing on his soft compound tyres while others, such as Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, opted for mediums.
Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri, Norris’ McLaren teammate, started from pole and managed to hold his lead into Turn 1. However, the opening corners were anything but smooth, as Mercedes’ George Russell locked up under braking and made contact with Piastri while trying to seize second position. Despite the clash, Piastri remained in the lead, though the incident set a tense tone for the early laps of the race.
As the action unfolded behind them, Norris’ charge to the front came under review, culminating in the FIA’s decision to penalize him for the false start. Once the penalty was confirmed, Norris served it during his first pit stop, which also saw him switch to the medium compound tyres. This combination dropped him significantly down the order, rejoining the race in 14th place and leaving him with a challenging recovery drive ahead.
Leclerc, who had lost positions at the start, was running on the medium tyres and struggled to keep pace with rivals on softer compounds. This tyre strategy disparity explained how Norris, Russell, and others managed to get the better of the Ferrari driver in the opening phase of the race.
Further down the field, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen found themselves in close combat once again, reigniting a rivalry that has defined many recent F1 battles. Hamilton, like Leclerc, had started on medium tyres, while Verstappen went aggressive with softs. Hamilton appeared to play the long game, aiming to benefit from tyre degradation on Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Before the pair could engage in a proper on-track duel, Verstappen made an early pit stop and switched to hard tyres, briefly falling down the field. Norris followed suit shortly after, serving his penalty and switching tyres in one go, but the time lost in the pits proved costly.
The incident casts a shadow over what could have been a podium-contending drive for Norris, who demonstrated strong pace and racecraft early on. With the penalty served and ground to recover, the remainder of the Bahrain Grand Prix became an uphill battle for the McLaren driver, who now faces the challenge of clawing his way back into poi
nts contention.
