Jeremy Clarkson makes his feelings clear on FIA following 'absurd' decision at F1 Qatar Grand Prix

Jeremy Clarkson has labelled the FIA's decision to hand McLaren driver Lando Norris one of the most severe penalties in the rule book as "absurd" and "ludicrous".

Norris was hit with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix for failing to slow down for yellow flags that were being waved after a wing mirror fell off Alex Albon’s Williams car.

As a result of the punishment with less than ten laps remaining, Norris dropped from second to 14th before rebounding to 10th.

It was a decision many thought was harsh. In fact, after the race, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insisted the penalty “lacked any specificity and proportion”.

He also confirmed they were seeking a review into the punishment.

"We expect that this case of applying such a severe penalty will be reviewed by the FIA, and there is certainly, in our opinion, material for improvement once the FIA has taken this opportunity to open a review of their operations and application of the penalty,” said Stella.

"As for the rest, we don't want to comment. We trust the FIA in terms of their decisions, in terms of when you put somebody in a certain role - that's the job of the FIA."

He added: "For us, we have expressed that we expect this to be the case to be reviewed but we don't want to enter with any comment about changes of racing director. We don't have the elements to judge, so we just trust the institution that is there to do this kind of job.”

At the time of the incident, F1 fan and former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson voiced his thoughts on social media.

"That’s an absurd penalty for Lando Norris," he said, on X, formerly Twitter.

After a fan responded to his post by asking: "So drivers should not lift when under a yellow?", Clarkson replied: "George got 5 seconds for a safety car infringement. Reasonable penalty. 10 second stop/go? Nah."

Clarkson then called the decision "ludicrous" after former British racing driver Tiff Needell wrote on X: "Have a feeling there'll be another @FIA sacking in the morning..."

Image credit: Getty

The FIA considered Norris’ driving to be a “serious compromise of safety”.

They said the penalty was in accordance with the penalty guidelines circulated to the teams on 19 February 2024, and pointed out that a double yellow flag infringement is considered a serious compromise of safety, which is why such offences carry such a severe penalty.

The stewards' statement read in full: "The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry and in-car video evidence."

"The telemetry and on-board audio clearly showed that the driver of Car 4 did not make any reduction in speed in the yellow sector. The double waved yellow flags and yellow lights were clearly visible to him.

"Compliance with the yellow flag rules is paramount for the safety of all parties and this requirement is clearly noted in the first item of the Race Director's Event Notes at every event."