“How Much Did You Pay FIA?”: Fans Slam McLaren as “Shameful” Social Media Antics Mask Lando Norris’ Crimes

In Austria, like the qualifying session on Friday, the Stewards again had a penalty party during the race on Sunday. The 5-second and 10-second penalties did not stop after the race was over. Even after the race, 12 penalties were handed to 8 different drivers. But McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri got a clean chit. And McLaren’s Twitter team was quick to post a celebratory meme post. However, that has not gone down well with many fans because of Norris’ actions during the race.

On Friday, the stewards were only present in their race control room. But during the race on Sunday, fans saw multiple stewards driving the cars. Not the FIA stewards, but the drivers who took on the role of stewards and were calling out their rivals for breaching track limits. One of them was Lando Norris, who called out Lewis Hamilton multiple times for exceeding track limits. And Hamilton did get penalized for those moments.

While 8 other drivers got penalized after the race, McLaren got none. And to top that, Norris got promoted from P5 to P4 owing to penalties for drivers who finished ahead of him. McLaren posted a meme on Twitter celebrating that promotion. In doing so, they have given fans a new meme template as well. But that is not the point. Many fans were not amused with such a post because Norris had exceeded track limits multiple times. And photos of his MCL60 being beyond the white lines have been circulating on social media too. But he was let go.

Read More: Despite Falling Prey to His on-Track Brilliance, Lewis Hamilton Showers Praise on Lando Norris as McLaren Finally Gets in the Groove

Twitteratis were quick to accuse McLaren of lobbying with the FIA to go penalty-free.

Lando Norris and McLaren Accused of Dirty Politics Despite Strong Meritorious Comeback

McLaren scripted a beautiful turnaround at the Austrian GP. There were several issues that they were nursing from the beginning of the season. And because of that, Lando Norris was only able to score 12 points in 8 races. But the upgrades brought in by brilliant minds in the garage changed their course. And in Austria, due to other drivers getting post-race penalties, Norris scored 12 points in just one race.

There were drivers who received more than one penalty. Esteban Ocon was an extreme case, receiving a 30-second penalty after the race. If the FIA was so strict with everybody, why did Norris not receive any penalty despite visibly doing the same? This is the same question that fans had and they were vocal about it.

One would think that Norris’ nightmare would have come to an end with the car getting quicker again. And It might have come to an end on the racetrack. But critics and fans that are thinking like stewards have shown him his place. Maybe Silverstone is where he gets it all back.

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