Palmer: 'See no difference between the incidents of Verstappen and Norris'

One of the big stories after the Austrian Grand Prix were the many penalties that were handed out. Especially the penalty for Lando Norris, who pushed Sergio Perez into the gravel, caused a lot of controversy. Jolyon Palmer analyses the incident and takes some examples from the past.

A dubious penalty for Norris

"Towards Turn 4 he [Perez] is a bit ahead. But Lando has the inside and brakes late. As they head towards the apex they are about side by side, maybe Lando is a little bit ahead. Lando locks his steering wheel, you can see that. Only when Lando hits the kerb, he steers back. But at that moment Perez is already in the gravel. There is clearly no room for a Formula 1 car at the exit of that corner," says Palmer in a Youtube Video from the F1 channel.

According to Palmer Perez should have been patient and waited for a later moment in the Grand Prix. Norris did end up getting a five-second penalty for the action. "It's a dubious penalty. It's a tricky one because there are several sides to it. According to the rules, there was no room on the outside for Perez, so Norris forced him off."

Verstappen and Leclerc as examples

"But we haven't seen that penalty in two years". Palmer cites a moment from the 2019 Austrian GP. Max Verstappen then caught up with Charles Leclerc at the end of the race and pushed Leclerc off the track. But at that point of the track, in Turn 3, there was asphalt next to it. The stewards looked into the incident but ultimately did not give Verstappen a penalty for it.

"I can't see the difference between what Verstappen did two years ago and what Norris did. It's clear that it's about what's outside the track. It's the gravel that's the problem." As Perez got into the gravel, he dropped way back compared to other examples Palmer notes. "It was more dramatic, but the offence was no different to so many. According to the rules, I think the stewards did the right thing to penalise Lando." But he is doubtful, as no penalties have been handed out for similar incidents in the last two years. "It's the inconsistency that's always the problem," Palmer concludes.