Kevin Magnussen received a lot of criticism for his ‘defensive actions’ during the sprint race. Many people deemed his behavior unacceptable, leading to the Dane receiving penalty time and penalty points. However, Lando Norris has come to Magnussen’s defense, disagreeing with the widespread criticism.
“It’s a bit like Monaco when your teammate is ninth and overtakes you and you do something like Fernando Alonso a few years ago who blocked everyone. But you cut the track to overtake someone,” Norris explained. “You know you will be punished, but you save your teammate. They can seed. You can do it.”
“You know you will get a penalty, but you play the bigger team game. It depends on how far you want to counter something like that. It’s a horrible experience when you’re the other rider. But I think what he did was very smart.”
Despite the backlash, Norris believes Magnussen’s actions did not warrant a black flag, contrary to the opinions of several others.
“He didn’t do anything to deserve a black flag. What he did was just something that deserved the normal punishment, such as going off the track and not giving up your position. So we reported that to the stewards several times.”