Lando Norris believes the structure of stewarding needs to be altered with stricter penalties imposed in junior categories.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, series like F3 and F2 often sees more sanctions imposed on drivers for incidents that typically wouldn’t be expected in F1.
One such extreme example came in Monza when 15 drivers were penalised in F3 qualifying and the session red-flagged for safety reasons for the same slipstream shenanigans which then did also take place in F1’s own Q3.
Even so, with a greater emphasis on ensuring younger or less experienced drivers, Norris believes some of the poor driving standards can be avoided.
“In certain championships [there’s] been times where maybe people haven’t been punished enough,” he told RaceFans.
“They’ve been punished but not in a bad way or enough for it to really have an impact. It’s been three-place grid penalty of five-place or something like that. Sometimes just a verbal warning.
“I don’t think it would hurt bringing them up maybe more strict.”
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That comes at a time, however, when F1 itself is trying to be more lenient, with FIA race director Michael Masi reintroducing the black and white flag for bad sportsmanship, motorsports defacto yellow card.
“In Formula 1 we obviously want the rules to be opened up more and to race more and so on, but I think being not schooled properly and then being schooled more come Formula 1, I think it’s the wrong way,” Norris continued.
“It should be schooled more in the lower categories and more free to do what you want in F1, knowing what you’ve learnt in the past.
“[This is better] than being more open and saying ‘oh yeah but they’re young and whatever’ and then being schooled more in F1 with more rules and everything. It should be the opposite. Start with a lot of rules and it kind of opens up come Formula 1.”
