LANDO NORRIS was hit with a five-second grid penalty for a false start at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
To make matters worse, Max Verstappen – who started a place behind him on the grid in seventh – snitched on the British 25-year-old.
The four-time world champion said on his team radio: “Lando is over his grid box.”
Norris, 25, soared into third from sixth with a blistering start, but stewards hit him with a five-second penalty for the infringement.
It came after a frustrated Verstappen admitted it had been a “tough weekend” for Red Bull.
The Dutchman could only muster P7 in qualifying as he struggled with an “inconsistent” car.
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Verstappen said in the build-up to Sunday’s race: “For whatever reason I’ve been struggling with the brakes.
“It’s something that we need to investigate. And then general grip, I guess, throughout the lap, [it was] quite inconsistent.
“That makes it very hard to understand what you actually need from the car when, for whatever reason, we can’t seem to make the tyres work.
“We have tried a lot, honestly, with the set-up – left, right, up and down.
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“But unfortunately nothing really gave us a clear answer, so that is of course a bit of a shame.”
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri started the race on pole after a blistering qualifying lap.
And Norris couldn’t explain why he’d struggled to keep pace with his fellow McLaren.
Norris admitted after qualifying: “I was just slow.
“I have been slow this whole weekend, to be honest.
THE new Formula One season is up and running and has already seen huge drama in the opening weeks.
A massive summer of change saw Lewis Hamilton move on from Mercedes and join Ferrari, while the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have hope of ending Max Verstappen’s recent dominance.
The Red Bull ace is hoping for a record-equalling FIFTH consecutive world title.
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Nothing too surprising. I have just been off it.
“The car is amazing. I have nothing to complain about, the team are doing an amazing job.
“But I am just letting them down.”
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Norris got over the starting drama to finish third. Oscar Piastri produced an expert drive to finish in first, over 12 seconds ahead of second-placed George Russell.
Verstappen came home in sixth, behind fith-placed Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
