FIA explains why Lando Norris avoided penalty in Abu Dhabi

The FIA stewards have detailed their reasoning for not penalizing Lando Norris after he passed Yuki Tsunoda off the track during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a decision that ultimately had no bearing on the championship outcome.

Why it matters:

Stewards' decisions, especially in title-deciding races, are heavily scrutinized. This explanation provides crucial transparency into how the rules are applied in complex, real-time racing incidents, setting a precedent for how similar situations—where a driver is forced off track by another's erratic defense—will be judged in the future.

The details:

The incident occurred as Norris exited the pits and attempted to pass Tsunoda, who was actively defending to aid his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen's title bid. On the main straight, Tsunoda made multiple moves, weaving across the track. In response, Norris moved to the inside to avoid contact and completed the pass, with all four wheels beyond the white line.

• Both drivers were placed under investigation: Tsunoda for forcing another driver off the track and Norris for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.
• The stewards' review of positioning data and video evidence was key to their verdict.
• They concluded that Tsunoda's multiple defensive moves directly caused Norris to go off-track to avoid a collision.
• Crucially, the stewards invoked the Driving Standards Guidelines, which state a car is not considered to have exceeded track limits if it is "forced off."
• Based on this, they determined that while the overtake technically occurred off the track, no further action against Norris was warranted. Tsunoda received a five-second time penalty for his role in the incident.

The big picture:

This ruling reinforces a fundamental principle in racing regulations: the driver defending is primarily responsible for making a clean, predictable move. A penalty for Norris would have been controversial, as it would have punished him for taking evasive action to prevent a crash caused by another driver's illegal defense. The outcome did not affect the world championship, as Norris finished third and a potential five-second penalty would only have dropped him to fourth, still ahead of Charles Leclerc.