Norris calls on FIA to resolve sticker hazard

MONACO — Lando Norris has called on the FIA to find a solution to sponsorship stickers coming off barriers at the Monaco Grand Prix and littering the track.

On a number of occasions this weekend, cars making contact with the barriers has resulted in the sponsorship stickers tearing off the Armco barrier and ending up in the middle of the track.

Charles Leclerc, who went on to secure pole position, had to pit in Q1 to have part of a sticker removed from his front wing and Norris had to pit towards the end of the session to have one removed from underneath his car.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who was knocked out in Q1 and will start 18th, said he lost 0.2 seconds on his fastest lap avoiding stickers in the racing line.

Norris revealed that the problem was discussed during Friday’s driver briefing after practice but no action was taken to rectify the issue.

“I had to pit to get it off,” he said. “It just shouldn’t happen in Formula One.

“It’s a bit silly in my opinion, we said it would happen yesterday and they said they were going to fix it but obviously it wasn’t fixed.

“It’s a shame that you have to get lucky, I was lucky that I had enough time [before the end of Q1 to pit and remove the sticker] otherwise it wouldn’t have ruined my qualifying and my whole weekend.”

Asked if a similar problem could ruin a driver’s race if it happens on Sunday, Norris added: “Yeah, but there is nothing I can do. It can only ruin your race at the minute.

“They need to come up with a better solution than just stickers because of course we are touching the wall and all this stuff, but it’s not acceptable that this can ruin your whole weekend, just for some stickers and things like that.

“They need to find a better solution.”