Lando Norris disagrees with Lewis Hamilton assessment of Monaco Grand Prix start

Hamilton has criticised the decision to delay the start of the Monte Carlo race by more than an hour

Lando Norris believes that the right course of action was taken during Sunday’s race (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Lando Norris has disagreed with Lewis Hamilton and said that it was “not safe” to start the Monaco Grand Prix on time on Sunday.

The race was delayed by more than an hour due to heavy rain showers in Monte Carlo, a decision that has since been criticised by Mercedes’ Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion suggested that weather was not reason enough for such a lengthy delay to proceedings getting under way.

Norris, however, believes the right approach was taken and the race could not have gotten under way on time.

Using the crash of Mick Schumacher, who was fortunate to escape without serious injury after his Haas was split in two during the race, as an example, the 22-year-old McLaren driver stressed that the driver safety must be paramount.

“It was not safe on Sunday,” Norris wrote in The Telegraph. “You literally couldn’t see five metres in front of you during that first attempt to get the race under way.

“Ultimately, it is me that is risking my neck out there. We all saw the consequences of one tiny error on Sunday.

“Mick Schumacher missed the apex of the right-hander at the Swimming Pool and positioned the car just a fraction offline – maybe no more than 10 centimetres – and that was it. Game over.

“It is only when you are actually in a Formula One car, feeling brake temperatures, the tyre temperatures, the grip levels, that you can truly appreciate what is possible and what is not. What is safe and what is not.”

The FIA later clarified that a heavy downpour just before the scheduled start had caused problems for the starting lights, and that they were particularly cautious after a weekend of driving in the dry around the street circuit.

Still, the decision to push back the start caused frustration, with Hamilton among those to declare that rain should not prevent a race from starting.

“I don’t know the reason for them not sending us out at the get-go – but we are Formula 1 drivers, so [the weather] is not a good enough reason,” Hamilton suggested.

“That is what I was saying. I was like, ‘Let’s go,’ when it was just drizzling a little bit at the beginning. We will talk about it in the drivers’ briefing, but we should have started the race.”