Formula 1 Austrian GP
Horner: Norris didn't deserve penalty for Perez incident
Red Bull Formula 1 team boss Christian Horner says Lando Norris’s incident with Sergio Perez in the Austrian Grand Prix was "hard racing", and didn’t deserve a penalty.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 6, 2021, 11:40 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Perez tried to go around the outside of Norris at Turn 4 as they battled over second place following the early safety car restart.
However, Perez had no room on the exit as the McLaren stuck to the racing line, and the Mexican ran across the kerbs and through the gravel trap, dropping him down the order.
The stewards eventually handed Norris a five-second penalty for having forced Perez off the track.
Perez was later handed two similar penalties for having pushed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc wide as they battled for position.
Horner did not believe that the incidents deserved sanctions, and he expressed concern that it could open the door for drivers to start running wide deliberately to try to get their rivals a punishment.
“I think I said in the commentary that I didn't have a major problem with the Lando move,” Horner told Sky F1. “It was racing. It was hard racing. It was wheel-to-wheel, so then to get a penalty for that, I guess they gave themselves no choice when he had the same with Charles.
“But that's racing. Otherwise, you're going to get drivers just chucking themselves off the circuit and claiming penalties. So it's a bit disappointing. For me, that's hard racing.”
Read Also:
- Norris frustrated by F1 penalty for defending ‘stupid’ Perez move
- Verstappen "amazed" after "pretty insane" Austrian GP win
- Hamilton says "lot of damage" cost him "easy second" in Austrian GP
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl agreed that he felt the Norris incident was not worthy of a penalty.
“I also disagree with the penalty,” he said. “It is at the beginning of the race and, in Michael Masi’s words, you learn in karting already that if you go there you will end up in the gravel.
“I think with the cars being side by side, I don’t think that is a penalty. But let’s focus on the positives: it was sensational race and weekend from the team and Lando, and a sensational recovery from Daniel [Ricciardo]. I want to say a big thanks to everyone here at the track and at home.”
Norris eventually finished in third, with Perez’s 10-seconds of penalties meaning he was classified sixth.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Eight F1 drivers summoned over yellow flag breach in Austria
Next article Norris frustrated by penalty for defending ‘stupid’ Perez move
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Dec 28, 2024
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez to skip F1 Mexico GP fan forum due to illness
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
13 d
Sergio Perez to skip F1 Mexico GP fan forum due to illness
Sergio Perez praises Colton Herta impact - but has no say over 2027 Cadillac F1 team-mate choice
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
14 d
Sergio Perez praises Colton Herta impact - but has no say over 2027 Cadillac F1 team-mate choice
The 10 key moments that defined Sergio Perez's F1 career
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
15 d
The 10 key moments that defined Sergio Perez's F1 career
Latest news
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
1 h
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
4 h
Iker Lecuona felt significant differences between Ducati's GP25 and GP26
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe