Lando Norris was left feeling that he had “let down” McLaren after a stop/go penalty in the Qatar Grand Prix saw him drop down the order, having gone from battling for the lead to trying to make gains from the back of the field.

It had been a solid start to the race for Norris, who got the better of Mercedes’ George Russell at the start to put himself in a scrap with Max Verstappen for P1. While the Red Bull man held the position, Norris again launched a challenge later on in what proved to be an eventful race but still had to settle for second.

READ MORE: Verstappen surges to victory ahead of Leclerc and Piastri in action-packed Qatar Grand Prix amid three Safety Cars

However, what looked to be a podium result slipped away when the Briton received a 10-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under double waved yellow flags a little earlier on. He promptly served this and fell to the back of the pack, before recovering some positions to ultimately cross the line in 10th place.

Asked during a post-race chat with Sky Sports F1 if he felt that the punishment was harsh, Norris responded: “Honestly I don’t know what I’ve done wrong at the minute. Apparently I didn’t slow under the yellow. I’m not an idiot – if I knew there was a yellow I would have slowed down.