Norris: “I kind of clouded over Oscar’s first race win in Formula 1”
The Hungarian Grand Prix left McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a tricky situation. Starting from pole position, Norris found himself immediately challenged by his teammate as the two McLarens went three abreast into Turn 1 alongside Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver ran wide across the run-off, allowing Piastri, who started in P2, to take the lead. Verstappen returned to the track in second place, Norris was third, and Lewis Hamilton moved up to P4.
Piastri managed his pace well and comfortably led until McLaren’s strategy threw a wrench in the works for both teammates.
During the second round of pit stops, Norris undercut Piastri, meaning that he was behind the Brit when the Australian pitted a few laps later — McLaren’s decision aimed to prevent Lewis Hamilton from undercutting them and jeopardizing a guaranteed one-two finish. When Piastri stopped three laps after Norris, he was assured he would be given the position back.
However, what followed was a tense series of radio communications. On Lap 49, Norris was told by his race engineer, Will Joseph, to give the position back to Piastri “at his convenience.” As Piastri went off in the gravel slightly, the gap between them extended to 3.3 seconds.
Norris resisted despite repeated instructions and reminders about tyre management and team strategy. On Lap 55, he responded to the team’s request to save more tyres by questioning their pit strategy, saying, “Erm… well, you should have boxed him first then.”
As the laps dwindled, the pressure from his engineer intensified. On Lap 61, Joseph emphasized the importance of teamwork and the potential impact on the championship, reminding Norris of their Sunday morning meetings. Finally, with only a few laps remaining, Norris conceded after much persuasion and allowed Piastri to pass on Lap 68.
Norris, currently P2 in the championship standings, was eyeing his second Formula 1 win. If he had won the race, he would have closed the gap to the championship leader, Max Verstappen, who currently sits at 265 points. A win would have brought Norris to 196 points instead of his current 185.
Team Principal Andrea Stella’s decision
Regarding the strategy, team principal Andrea Stella defended his decision:
“My decision was to secure the 1–2 first and then decide the finishing order. I absolutely wanted to avoid something going wrong with a wheel nut or something — and ending up behind Ferrari or Mercedes and screwing it up.”
Stella added, “I’m very proud of that. And if we have a chance to dethrone Verstappen later this season, then I know that my drivers will help each other. We have laid the foundation for that with this victory.”
Stella has also since stated that if any driver does not follow a McLaren team order, their future could be in doubt at the team, but has signalled that a number one driver policy could come into force later in the season. “When you have Oscar and Lando, we are in the lucky position that we don’t really need to decide who is a number one driver.
It is a way of simplifying things for some people like myself but a way to frustrate the ambition of the entire team and the way we go racing. It is deep in our ethos that we race fair, and if one of the drivers gains a result on merit, it is protected. Maybe if it is the last couple of races and there is a strong championship interest for one of the two drivers, we may revise this.”
McLaren later revealed that Norris had experienced a minor glitch finding second gear during his acceleration from pole position, which could be why he lost the lead in Turn 1.
After the race, Norris said, “I didn’t deserve to win the race today. Simple as that. So the fact I was in that position was incorrect,” Norris told reporters. “I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. I shouldn’t have been given that hope of ‘I’m here, I’m leading a race’.”
Norris stated he was always going to give back the place but, as a racing driver, was obviously going to question the situation and challenge the orders. “I was going to wait until the last lap, the last corner,” he added. “But then they (McLaren) said if there was a safety car all of a sudden, and I couldn’t let Oscar go through, then it would have made me look like a bit of an idiot. Then I was like, ‘yeah, it’s fair point’. And I let him go.”
During media day at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, Lando Norris expressed regret about overshadowing Piastri’s first win the previous week. He said, “It’s the things that I could have done; the fact that I kind of clouded over Oscar’s first race win in F1 is something I’ve not felt too proud about. Could it have been handled slightly differently from a team side and from a personal side? Yeah, absolutely. I think we would not be having this conversation now in some ways.”
Regarding the number one driver policy potentially coming into play at McLaren further down the line, Norris commented, “I still need to earn it. I still need to go out there and drive quicker than everyone. I have had a chance the whole season, and we have never had a bias in the team before.”
