News Summary
- Norris received a reprimand after taking avoiding action to miss Oscar Piastri behind the Safety Car.
- Stewards found that he had misjudged his closing speed as cars slowed around George Russell’s stranded Mercedes.
- His ninth-place finish remains unchanged, with no further action over his return to the circuit or alleged overtakes.
Lando Norris received a reprimand for driving erratically behind the Safety Car during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The McLaren driver retains ninth place and two championship points after stewards investigated his late-race near-miss with teammate Oscar Piastri at Sepang.
The incident occurred as George Russell stopped his Mercedes with a power unit failure near the end of the race. Cars approaching Turn 1 slowed, catching Norris out and forcing him to steer off the circuit to avoid hitting Piastri.
Norris crossed the kerbs and ran through the gravel, losing positions before recovering to ninth in the race won by Max Verstappen ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton. It was his first reprimand of the 2026 season.
Why Norris received a reprimand
After reviewing video evidence and hearing from Norris and McLaren, the stewards concluded that he had approached the slowing cars too quickly. Norris explained that the low sun made it difficult to recognise how sharply the queue ahead had reduced its speed.
The officials nevertheless considered that he should have allowed a greater safety margin. His evasive move prevented contact, but driving onto the kerbs also reduced the grip available for braking.
The reprimand reflected both his mistake and his successful reaction once he recognised the danger.
“Such a situation should not arise while driving behind the Safety Car, and NOR was required to maintain a sufficient margin to the cars ahead,” the stewards stated.
Speaking to reporters after the race at Sepang, Norris acknowledged responsibility for being caught out by the sudden reduction in speed.
“I swore a lot,” Norris said. “I guess it’s my fault at the end of the day, so I was just unlucky with it.”
No further action over rejoining or overtaking
The investigation also examined Norris’s brief movement ahead of Piastri while taking avoiding action. Stewards did not consider it an overtaking manoeuvre: Norris was off the circuit, and Piastri immediately moved back ahead.
They separately cleared his return to the track near Lance Stroll. Norris rejoined progressively without forcing the Aston Martin driver to take evasive action.
Video evidence also showed that Norris was already back on the circuit and ahead of Stroll when the Canadian approached. He therefore did not overtake Stroll behind the Safety Car.
The decision leaves Norris’s result intact after a difficult afternoon. Starting fifth, he gambled on medium slicks for the damp opening stages before the late Safety Car incident cost him further ground. Piastri finished sixth.
Formula 1 returns from 9–11 October for the Singapore Grand Prix, which features a Sprint weekend. GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the action at Marina Bay.
