Why did Lando Norris feel that he would have incurred a track limits penalty if Fernando Alonso was pressuring him in the race?

Lando Norris reckons he too could have gotten a penalty for track limits if Fernando Alonso had pressured him in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP. There were multiple drivers who received a time penalty since they went off the white lines at turns nine and 10, triggering the track limit rule. Thankfully, the McLaren driver did not.

Speaking to the media, Lando Norris explained how he too would have received a time penalty if he pushed too hard to defend against Fernando Alonso. He further explained how the car is bound to slide a bit if a driver is pushing, which results in all four tires going over the white line. He said (via PlanetF1):

“If Fernando was behind me the last 5/10 laps, I can assure you that I’d have done track limits at least once, and then I probably would have gotten a penalty. It just depends if you’re under pressure. When you’re under pressure, you’re pushing a little bit more, you have a little bit more of a slide. But that’s just like human error, but it’s also like that’s racing at the end of the day."

Furthermore, Lando Norris stated that a rule is a rule and that it will be applied to anyone, no matter what situation they are in. He elucidated the complexity of the rules and how difficult they are to manage, concluding:

“It feels tough for some of the things that you feel like you shouldn’t be penalized for, but when it’s a rule, then it’s also a rule for everyone. So I guess that I didn’t. If you struggle, then you’ve just got to slow down. But you never want to do that when you’re a driver. So yeah, it’s complicated.”

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Lando Norris was delighted with upgrades to the McLaren MCL60 at the Austrian GP

Lando Norris was quite pleased with McLaren's MCL60. Even though he was unable to bag a podium finish, the car looked quite strong around the Red Bull Ring. After the qualifying session, the Briton spoke to Sky Sports and said:

“I'm super happy, the guys have done a good job to get all the bits here and it's paid off straight away. A very good day from start to finish. We had a few issues this morning, which meant we were even more limited on running."

In the main Austrian GP, Lando Norris managed to finish fourth (after Carlos Sainz received a time penalty), which was the best result for him since the 2023 F1 season started. The new upgraded car looks promising, and we could see Norris finish in these positions if the car runs perfectly on future tracks.