Lando Norris’s chances of winning the British Grand Prix shot up when the stewards issued his team mate a 10-second time penalty on lap 25.
Oscar Piastri was leading by 3.6 seconds at the time and clearly needed to pull out almost seven seconds more over his team mate to be in a position to win. Norris, second, had become the de facto leader.
But with the two McLarens running closely together at the front it left the team in a tricky situation.
In wet races, sudden changes in conditions can force teams to pit both cars on the same lap. ‘Stacking’ the cars saves both time on the whole but the second car may lose a little time if they arrive close to the car ahead.
However if both cars are close together and the leading car has to serve a 10-second time penalty, the second car inherits all of that disadvantage. They also lose the opportunity to jump ahead of the first.
There was therefore a possibility Norris could lose what looked like a nailed-on win. McLaren made that problem clear to him right away. “Oscar has a 10 second penalty,” race engineer Will Joseph told him promptly, “that means we will not follow him into the pit stop.”
That was all well and good as long as McLaren could afford to pit their drivers on different laps. But if they couldn’t – for example, if the Safety Car was deployed – then they faced a dilemma. If both drivers needed to change tyres to avoid being disadvantaged, Norris would have to follow Piastri in and lose 10 seconds along with him.
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That scenario wasn’t an immediate concern for McLaren when Piastri’s penalty was issued, as the track was still very wet and the drivers were content circulating on their intermediate tyres. The danger emerged as the track dried out and others began switching to slicks.
From that point, McLaren knew that if the Safety Car was deployed they would have to bring their drivers in for slicks. On lap 38 Joseph warned Norris: “Lando, just to be clear to you, the risk for us is a Safety Car here.”
Alonso became the first driver to pit for slicks at that point in the race. It proved premature, but that does not necessarily mean McLaren would not have pitted for slick tyres had the Safety Car been deployed, as that decision has to be taken with a view towards what state the track will be in when the Safety Car is withdrawn. (Joseph made this very point to Norris much earlier in the race, telling him: “The question is, what would [it] be like in two or three laps time if there’s a Safety Car?”
Six laps passed between Joseph warning Norris about the risk he faced from a Safety Car until Piastri finally pitted from the lead. Norris, of course, could have lobbied to pit before him, but it’s standard policy for the leading driver to have the right to the first pit stop, and pitting before Piastri would have brought with it the risk of going onto slicks too soon.
Once Piastri headed for the pits on lap 44, Norris was effectively in the clear. Only a misfortune – such as a disastrously slow pit stop or closed pit lane entrance – could cost him the win now. That didn’t happen, and he proceeded to collect victory.
Norris’s attitude towards a Safety Car deployment reversed as soon as he was the only McLaren driver left who needed to pit, as now one would help him change to slick tyres and rejoin the race ahead of his team mate. When he spotted debris from the collision between Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman he was quick to alert his team about the debris on track
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After the race McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted after the race they had been concerned about the danger to Norris from an untimely Safety Car appearance. “The way we managed the situation today, given the penalty, was to allow Oscar, despite the penalty, in case of a Safety Car, to retain the lead,” he said.
“If there was a Safety Car, both cars would have pitted, Oscar would have paid the penalty, Lando would have waited [behind him] and the two McLarens would have gone out in the same order as they came in.”
Norris had one misfortune in the pits earlier in the race, when a slow tyre change cost him a position he had just gained from Max Verstappen. But the race-losing misfortune he avoided would have been a lot harder to take.
Selected Norris radio messages from the British Grand Prix
Lap: 21/52 NOR: 2’40.127
Joseph
Safety Car is in this lap, Safety Car is in this lap, so think about brake balance.Piastri slows the field, Verstappen briefly overtakes him
Joseph
Safety Car is around Stowe. Safety Car is in pit lane.Verstappen spins in front of Norris at the exit of Stowe
Lap: 26/52 NOR: 1’42.004
Joseph
Lando suggest red A3, red A3. Oscar has a 10 second penalty, that means we will not follow him into the pit stop.
Lap: 27/52 NOR: 1’42.096
Joseph
And Lando, how are the tyres please?
Norris
Yeah, they’re okay, yep.
Lap: 30/52 NOR: 1’42.403
Joseph
And Lando gap behind the Stroll is 16.0. If there was another Safety Car would you want a new inter?
Norris
Yes, it’s still just wet everywhere, so yes.
Lap: 33/52 NOR: 1’41.411
Joseph
And Lando, question, how far from slicks?
Norris
A long way, still.
Lap: 34/52 NOR: 1’41.136
Joseph
Understood. The front-left tread block almost gone.
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Lap: 37/52 NOR: 1’40.803
Joseph
Turn nine last time was really good. Lando, track update, please.
Norris
Yeah, drying out. Some places are a little bit dry, not put slicks yet.
Lap: 38/52 NOR: 1’39.668
Joseph
Lando, just to be clear to you, the risk for us is a Safety Car here.
Joseph
Alonso has pitted onto a medium, we’re watching. Alonso struggling at the moment.
Lap: 39/52 NOR: 1’39.550
Joseph
Alonso still slow, Russell has just pitted for a hard. Lando, when we go for you, we said we’d fit a hard.
Norris
Yeah, confirm.
Lap: 40/52 NOR: 1’39.286
Joseph
On the hard tyre, Russell went off in Maggotts and Becketts, it’s still too early
Norris
I think it could be a medium now, it’s only 10 laps though.
Lap: 41/52 NOR: 1’39.297
Joseph
Understood, we’ll line up the medium.
Joseph
Alonso close to matching us in low speed, still slower in high speed.
Lap: 42/52 NOR: 1’38.778
Joseph
Alonso did a 42.6 last time.
Joseph
Other cars pitting as well, some fitting softs, we still think we’d stay on the medium.
Lap: 43/52 NOR: 1’39.005
Joseph
Lando, Alonso is now quicker, one of us will pit this lap.
Joseph
Lando, Oscar will pit this lap, we will go past once.
Lap: 44/52 NOR: 1’38.903
Norris
Confirm. Piastri pits
Joseph
Yellows ahead, car’s off track.
Norris
A lot of debris a lot of debris on-track. I think it’s off the racing line though.
Joseph
Okay.
Joseph
Confirming, we are box this lap.
Norris
Confirm, box.
Joseph
Yes, box this lap. Yellow flags, yellow flags, Leclerc at exit. I’d like silver D4 please. Silver D4.
Norris
Lando pit lane.
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2025 British Grand Prix
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