No penalty for McLaren as stewards can’t tell if they performed an ‘unsafe release’

McLaren has avoided a penalty after it was investigated for unsafely releasing Lando Norris’s car from a pit stop.

The team told Norris “stop the car, we’re coming to get you,” after he was released from his pit stop on lap 13. The team pushed him back to the pit box to have his wheel fittings checked.

The stewards investigation noted McLaren were unsure whether Norris’s front-left tyre had been fitted properly. However the stewards were unable to determine whether this had been the case.

“The stewards reviewed video and audio evidence of the pit stop of car four, heard from the team representative and the FIA technical delegate,” they explained.

“The team representative stated that the front left mechanic was not sure if the tyre was secured properly therefore they decided to stop the car for caution.

“After reviewing video evidences, the FIA technical delegate could not establish if the car was in an unsafe condition after being released from the pit stop. The stewards considered that with the available evidence it is not possible to determine if the car was released in an unsafe condition.”

Norris later retired from the race.

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