Norris is called when McLaren F1 takes the blame for the tire call

The McLaren driver made a mistake when he gave up slicks when a late rain soaked the track.

And after walking a long way around several corners in his attempt to return to the pits to change tires, he also slipped by skidding over the pit lane entry line and then driving back into the pit lane on the way.

This violates the event rules, in which the drivers were told in advance of the weekend that they were not allowed to cross the pit lane entry lines at all.

In a note previously sent by F1 Race Director Michael Masi, he said: “Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the Stewards), crossing any part of the car in any direction of the painted area between the pits entrance and the route by a driver who, in the opinion of the stewards, had committed to driving into the pit lane is prohibited. “

McLaren boss Andrea Seidl says that the decision for Lando Norris to stay on slicks in the wet final laps of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Russia was ultimately a team decision.

Norris led the majority of Sunday’s race in Sochi, took the lead on lap 14 from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and returned to the front of the field after the pit stop phase.

The McLaren driver fended off Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes as the rain increased on lap 46 of 53. Hamilton eventually fought for intermediate tires while Norris got involved in the slicks – even though the team called him into the pits.

Norris slipped off the road at Turn 5 on lap 51, giving Hamilton the lead before his eventual stopover lost him to seventh place.

Seidl says the result is “part of the learning” Norris has yet to do in Formula One, but admitted that McLaren could have been more confident in asking his driver for a pit stop.

“He knows that this is part of the game, also part of learning,” Seidl told Sky F1.

“Not only on his side, but also on the team’s side because I think there is always a chance to overrule him from the pit wall based on the information we’ve received.

“But in the end we made this call together to stay outside.

“I think on Lewis ‘side we heard the discussions and it was pretty much the same and on Lewis’ side he had a chance to wait and see what we were doing and do the opposite because he was P2 at that point and we didn’t have that opportunity.

“We really wanted to win, so we decided together to stay outside. That’s why it didn’t work. “

When asked if they regretted the call, Seidl replied: “We have finished P7, so we regret it at the moment!

“This is a decision that we made together with the team, the driver and the pit wall. The result is that we didn’t come together today compared to some other teams.

“We’ll analyze it, learn from it and try to do better next time.”

Seidl praised what Norris has achieved in his third year in Formula 1 after showing a strong performance up to the last laps on Sunday and taking pole on Saturday in changing conditions.

“I think, apart from the last two or three laps, what we of the team and him saw from his side once again when he took pole position and in the race today, is impressive what he is pulling off in his third year in Formula 1, ”he said.

“And that’s why we of course have to analyze together with him what we could have done better today, learn from it, that’s always the first thing we do – no matter how a race weekend ends.

“But at the same time it is important to see all the positive things from your side and to come back to Turkey stronger than before.”