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Norris: It's good that Albon didn't get a penalty

Published on 14 Oct 2019 16:54
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By: Dieter Rencken & Richard Fletcher

McLaren's Lando Norris says it was good that Alex Albon was not penalised for the incident they had during the Japanese Grand Prix. The pair made contact when Albon made a late dive down the inside at the final chicane.

Norris said that he didn't see Red Bull's Albon until he was alongside him and that he managed to avoid a big accident but he refused to blame Albon and was clear to emphasise that racing should be about attempted overtakes.

"I saw him fricking late, to be honest, I can't remember exactly what happened, it was a long race," Albon said. "I started to turn in, I was on my brakes but they weren't slowing me down properly.

"I think he must have committed before and I was almost getting to the apex, at which point I saw him. It could quite easily have turned into something a lot worse.

"So it was a bit of a risk from him, he would have got past sooner or later, His car was much quicker so it was a bit of a risk but I guess that's racing."

Norris described the race as frustrating as the early pit stop meant he couldn't make the most of the two-stop strategy and that he was missing one or two tenths which prevented him coming through as he had hoped.

"After going into Turn 1 it was looking very promising and then quite quickly went out of control."

After he checked to make sure that Albon hadn't been penalised Norris said: "Good, he kind of forced me off but that's racing. That's how it should be, he sent it up the inside, he made a move, fair play to the guy".

F1 News Alexander Albon Lando Norris McLaren Red Bull Racing

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Replies (1)

ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
Interesting, I was of the opinion that he should have been penalized, It's actually pretty shocking to see a driver glad that competition didn't get a penalty after tangling up. But yes, I can see Lando's point, it was marginal. What wasn't marginal though, was that batshit crazy attempt of Charles Leclerc to keep going with a broken car. I still can't believe nobody has made a bigger deal out of it. The F1 official highlights video shows a chunk of front wing literally ripping off Hamilton's mirror. It's crazy. The penalty was too late and too lenient.
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- Oct 14 2019 - 21:43