McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has questioned Charles Leclerc's penalty after the Brazilian Grand Prix, which cost the Ferrari driver seventh place.

Leclerc tapped the left rear of Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls car at Turn 12 on the penultimate lap of the race at Interlagos. The Monegasque driver was handed a five-second penalty after the race, which dropped him behind Lawson to eighth.

Norris, who won in front of the Brazilian crowd, argued that Leclerc's move on Lawson was "just racing" during a Twitch stream with his friend and former racing driver, Max Fewtrell.

Fewtrell agreed, calling it "proper racing". He said Leclerc had found the limit and that "any more of a nudge" would not have been fair, before describing it as "a perfectly timed nudge".

"I agree," Norris replied, adding that it had been "perfectly placed".

The stewards took a different view. In their decision, they said that the contact was minor, but that it had disrupted the New Zealander and allowed Leclerc to pull alongside despite having been further back before the contact. They also explained that Leclerc received a five-second penalty rather than a 10-second penalty, taking into account the wet conditions and the minor contact.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

"While the contact was minor and Car 30 was able to maintain the lead thereafter, the driver of Car 30 claimed that the contact damaged the rear left rim of his car and also enabled Car 16 to get closer to him on track and then eventually overtake him 5 corners later," the stewards explained in the official statement.

"Furthermore, under the Driving Standard Guidelines, Car 30 had the right to the corner and it was for Car 16 to take the necessary steps to avoid a collision.

"The driver of Car 16 claimed that it was a minor contact with no obvious sporting consequence.

"While we acknowledge that the contact was minor, having examined the fight on track between the two cars, we conclude that Car 16 was able to get closer to and thereafter overtake Car 30 because of the contact. The contact clearly disrupted Car 30 and allowed Car 16 to pull up alongside when it was further away before the contact. This was an obvious sporting consequence."