Norris Criticises Formation Lap Chaos: The Sport's Electronic Side Needs Questioning

McLaren's Lando Norris described the chaos on the formation lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia as terrible, saying the events showed that current practices around electronic systems should be reconsidered.

The race start was delayed by 40 minutes. When the grid went out for the rolling start, Lewis Hamilton stopped on track and reported a loss of power, while Max Verstappen slowed noticeably as the field came through. Hamilton got going again, but other drivers, including Esteban Ocon, also stopped on track. The start procedure was then suspended and red flags flew for around another hour. The race finally got under way without further problems.

Norris finished ninth. At one point behind the Safety Car, he had to take evasive action at Turn 1 to avoid hitting his team mate Oscar Piastri.

Norris called the formation lap situation terrible and said it proved the sport does not need its electronic side. He added that he cannot say more than has already been said, and that it all comes down to coding and how the battery works.

Asked about the erratic driving that nearly caused the collision with Piastri, Norris explained that it was partly due to George Russell's retirement. Everyone braked suddenly at Turn 1 because of Russell, and since he was far behind, he could not see how much they had slowed and was caught out.