FIA to clampdown on slow pit entry under safety car after Norris Italian GP incident

Norris was investigated for driving unnecessarily slowly into the pitlane when most of the field headed into the pits for tyre changes once the pit entry was opened after Kevin Magnussen's Haas was recovered by track marshals after stopping on the inside of the Parabolica.

The rule involved was Article 39.5 of the FIA sporting regulations, which states: "No car may be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person at any time whilst the safety car is deployed. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pitlane."

While it covers various scenarios, the rule is intended in part to stop drivers going slowly back to the pits and hampering rivals behind, a result of drivers using that tactic in the past when their teams were planning double-stacked stops for both their cars.

In Monza the implication was that Norris, who was immediately behind his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr, was slowing to leave a gap to create a more efficient stop sequence for the McLaren team, and that the cars behind - led by the Racing Point of Sergio Perez - lost time.

After the investigation no further action was taken, with the FIA noting: "The stewards viewed video evidence and GPS data and it was apparent that car 4 [Norris] maintained a reasonable time delta to the car in front and behind."

However at Friday's drivers' briefing in Mugello the subject was raised by Racing Point, and following a discussion race director Michael Masi acknowledged that on reviewing the incident the FIA will henceforth take a stricter line, starting with the Tuscan GP.

Asked by Autosport if there would be a change in approach with the FIA taking a stricter view on incidents Norris acknowledged that there would be.

"I guess the main thing is we're under safety car so we're not racing at that point," he said.

"You don't need to be taking any unnecessary risks or anything. So I was just driving along, trying to keep temperature in my tyres and so on. I wasn't doing anything stupid or anything silly or anything dangerous. I was just driving along under the safety car.

"So obviously, we discussed what you pretty much said. And there's been a bit of a rule set on what we can do, and are not allowed to do, and so on. So that's just something that I'll need to abide by only for the future."