Andrea Stella defended Lando Norris' mistake at Interlagos, who left the grid after race direction had just canceled the start, and had not yet ordered the drivers to do a new formation lap .
The race management's aim was to cancel the start and do another ten minutes of grid preparation, but the McLaren F1 driver initiated a formation lap which reduced the race distance by a further lap. He was punished with a reprimand and a fine for this.
“When you look at the letter of the regulations, it's a bit tricky, because in the additional formation lap, it's about a delayed start, then an interrupted start and return to the grid” Stella said.
“So there were some technicalities that might have made it a little confusing for Lando. I guess he was just reacting to the lights at that point.”
In addition to the lack of on-track gains for her driver, Stella thinks that the race management took too long to cancel the start in an obvious situation: “Overall, we think this is a very benign situation. In any case, this should provide a little clarity on what to do in these cases.”
“Because the decision came very late, when Lando had been in pole position for a long time. If there was an interrupted start, I think the conditions had been ripe for a long time to give it away. So it was a bit disruptive the pilot.”
