Norris and Russell punished over formation lap incident in Sao Paulo GP as Mercedes receive fines for tyre pressure infringement

An investigation into pole-sitter Lando Norris’s decision to begin a second formation lap after the start was aborted at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix concluded with a fine for him and George Russell, while several other drivers and teams were simultaneously penalised.

After an intensely eventful race, the possibility lingered that the race classification could change as the McLaren and Mercedes frontrunners were still under investigation for a start procedure infringement.

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Lance Stroll beached his Aston Martin on the formation lap, prompting race control to announce an aborted start. But when Norris circled back to the grid, he led the field away for another lap even though no green light indicated he could do so.

The incident was looked into after the race ended, and the decision was eventually made to deal out a fine of €5,000 and reprimand him – with a driver permitted four reprimands per season, a fifth resulting in a 10-place grid penalty.

The stewards’ document for both Russell and Norris explained: “Although the signal was appropriately given [with] the light panel illuminated as prescribed, and the teams notified by the messaging system, the driver left the grid and proceeded on a lap that he assumed to be an extra formation lap.

“As the driver was on the front row of the grid this triggered following drivers to take similar action. At some point the Race Director, realising that for practical reasons all cars would now need to do an extra formation lap, gave an instruction to the teams for all cars to proceed and return to the grid to follow the correct aborted start procedure.

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“In the opinion of the stewards, the driver... precipitated the action of the drivers on the grid directly behind him.”

Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, meanwhile, escaped any fines as they were deemed to have been influenced by the duo ahead.

Mercedes were penalised even further with an additional €10,000 fine – €5,000 for both Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s cars – after the team released pressure from their tyres on the grid whilst they awaited the aborted race start.

“Given the layout of the circuit and the access point to the grid from the pit lane, the time period for the team to get to the grid was extended,” the stewards explained. “The gate to access the grid was not immediately opened. The FIA accepted that given this short notice, it was extremely difficult if not impossible for the teams to follow the procedure prescribed in the technical directive.

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“Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the compressed time table, aborted start, the grid access logistics and given the stipulation from the Technical Delegate that the tyre pressures were within the correct parameters, the stewards determine that a fine for a breach of procedure is appropriate in this case.

“Normally a breach of this nature, within a competitive session, would carry a sporting penalty but it is not appropriate in this case. However, this decision should not be considered as a precedent for any similar breach in the future as the circumstances are considered unique.”

To round off the series of post-race decisions, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was dealt a reprimand for dangerous driving. After he spun out and crashed into the barrier, he removed the steering wheel, but quickly replaced it when the team believed he could drive back to the pits.

In the meantime, the marshals had already begun to recover his car as the Spaniard drove away from the incident.

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The stewards concluded that Sainz “accepted that removing the steering wheel was a clear indication of his intention to abandon the car”, but the move created “a potentially dangerous situation” that was “avoidable by the driver solely”, resulting in a reprimand.

The final race classification was ultimately unaffected by the decisions, leaving Russell in P4 ahead of Norris in P6, with Hamilton claiming a single point in P10.