F1 drivers blamed for Australian GP chaos, Lando Norris speaks out on true cause

The Australian Grand Prix provided a thrilling spectacle, but not without controversy. In the aftermath of the race, Lando Norris has spoken out against those who are quick to blame the drivers for the incidents that occurred during the final standing restart.

According to Lando Norris, those who accuse Formula 1 drivers of causing the incidents during the final standing restart of the Australian Grand Prix are unaware of the situation inside the car.

Norris attributes the chaotic events that resulted in a third red flag to a combination of the late standing restart and the inadequate grip of the Pirelli rubber. He believes that the tires do not feel appropriate for a Formula 1 car.

During the restart, Carlos Sainz caused Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin to spin at Turn 1, and Pierre Gasly went off the track and collided with his Alpine teammate, Esteban Ocon, after rejoining.

Additionally, Williams driver Logan Sargeant locked up and hit Nyck de Vries’s AlphaTauri from behind, resulting in both cars being stranded in the gravel and retiring from the race.

When questioned about criticisms leveled at the drivers involved in the incidents, Lando Norris stated that while he had nothing against them, they were unaware of what was happening inside the car.

He went on to explain that the soft tire being used had a temperature of 65C, and he couldn’t adequately describe the lack of grip on the track.

Lando Norris elaborated that the temperature of 65C was not a significant factor, but the problem lay in the tire’s inability to perform well on the surface and track temperature. He emphasized that the grip was severely lacking on the track, causing drivers to go straight on at Turn 1 and lock up.

The low grip forced drivers to brake earlier, leading to incidents and chaos on the track. Norris believed that if the tires provided better grip, the race could have been smoother without any unnecessary clumsiness or chaos.

However, due to the lack of grip, racing became difficult, and incidents were inevitable.

Norris believes that a better tire is required that offers more grip and feels appropriate for Formula 1’s top motorsport status. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the tires’ performance during the race, stating that they felt terrible on a day like that.

He is correct in saying that the tires do not provide good grip when not fully up to temperature, which is influenced by the surface temperature as well as the temperature inside the compound.

The tire needs to build up the right temperature to ‘switch on’ and perform as expected, chemically gripping the track as intended.

There were several contributing factors to the problem of insufficient grip. Firstly, the track temperature had dropped by around 13C since the start of the race, making it more challenging to build up the tire temperature.

Additionally, the track surface was smooth and newly laid in 2022, which made tire warm-up challenging throughout the weekend.

Furthermore, the formation lap behind the safety car was not enough to get the tires working, making it inevitable that many drivers would struggle for grip during the restart.

The all-or-nothing nature of the two-lap “race,” combined with the challenging conditions, increased the chances of incidents occurring. Lando Norris also questioned the rationale and the necessity for the late red flag and restart.

He suggested that the stoppage was not necessary, but he had limited visibility of the accident site from the cockpit. However, the FIA stated that the red flag was due to wheel debris from Kevin Magnussen’s crash.

Lando Norris stated that he did not think the second red flag was necessary, as there were only four laps to go, and the race could have finished under the safety car. He felt that the decision to restart the race only caused a bad end to the race.

However, Norris also acknowledged that he got lucky and gained a position on Gasly as a result of the restart. Nonetheless, he believed that the situation could have been much worse.

Lando Norris, who managed to avoid the incidents during the final restart, believes that having such a restart is too much of a lottery and can undo the work drivers have put in over the race distance.

He suggested that the FIA should reconsider the rules regarding the restarts, although he did not advocate for significant changes.

Norris felt that the sole purpose of the red flag was to put on a show, which he believed was not the right approach.

Norris expressed his concerns about the element of luck involved in the restart and how it could have easily caused him to crash with Nico Hulkenberg at the end.

He felt that the hard work of driving for 55-56 laps could easily be undone because of the desire to put on a show. Norris suggested that there should be a small rethink of this aspect of the race, rather than a significant change.

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