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Stewards Penalize Yuki Tsunoda for Multiple Moves in Norris Defense at Abu Dhabi GP

Officials said his repeated direction changes pushed Lando Norris off track, triggering a five‑second penalty plus a licence point.

Overview

  • Norris completed the pass with all four wheels beyond track limits, yet stewards deemed it a consequence of Tsunoda’s weaving and issued no sanction to the McLaren driver.
  • The ruling added one superlicence point to Tsunoda’s record, taking his 12‑month total to eight, with a ban triggered at 12.
  • Two other drivers received identical five‑second penalties for similar defensive moves on the same sequence of laps, underscoring consistent enforcement.
  • Tsunoda said he was defending to aid team‑mate Max Verstappen, told his engineer to "leave it to me," and later labelled the call harsh as he vowed to review it.
  • Red Bull’s Laurent Mekies called the decision a surprise and said it did not change the championship outcome, while the penalty cost Tsunoda track position on his way to 12th.