Norris admits Piastri and Leclerc outperformed him, though he still felt worthy of his third-place finish.
Starting from pole position at Monza, Lando Norris got off to a much better start than at Zandvoort, but he had to concede to his teammate Oscar Piastri after just a few corners, also losing a position to Charles Leclerc in the process.
Ultimately finishing third at the checkered flag, the McLaren F1 driver was understandably disappointed but still praised the performances of his garage neighbor and the Monégasque from Ferrari, who won with a one-stop strategy.
“Quite disappointing. Yes, it’s obvious even from the outside. I mean, Charles did a great race, honestly. It’s hard to know if we could have done what he did, but he deserved it. Yes, Oscar and Charles both had a good race. So, yes, it’s disappointing to start from pole and finish third, especially when I think the pace was very strong. It’s a shame, but that’s racing.”
“We tried to do just one stop on our side, knowing it was the fastest thing to do, but we just wore out the tires a bit too easily. And when you’re in third position, it’s much easier to try to take risks and do such a thing. So, I don’t think we can be too disappointed. It was much riskier for us to try to do it than for Charles, and he pulled it off. So, yes, hats off to them, to Ferrari and to him because driving made a big difference on the track. We thought about it and wanted to do it. But we couldn’t manage it. I think it was clear on Saturday. We had a good qualifying car. But in the race, our car probably wasn’t good enough.”
While Piastri’s overtaking cost him dearly, Norris asserts that his teammate abided by the team rules set by McLaren F1, which allows its drivers to compete as long as they avoid collisions.
“There was no contact, so he did a good job. Just braking a bit later. It’s as simple as that. But sometimes, it’s easier said than done. Oscar obviously braked at the limit and gave me space. It was just enough. I did my best to prevent anything else from happening at that moment. But at the same time, if I brake two meters later, you never know, it might have been a crash. So, it’s a tough question. The easiest thing is to brake much later and force him out, and I deal with the situation like nobody else. I don’t know. I obviously took my time. I saw we had a huge gap behind, so maybe I was a bit too cautious, and I paid the price for that.”
Norris does not want to “beg” Piastri to help him in the championship.
While the result is disappointing, Norris can still take pride in having gained seven points on Max Verstappen in the championship, with the Red Bull driver finishing only sixth after a difficult weekend. The British driver was not surprised to overtake his rival rather easily after his pit stop.
“No. I mean, they had no pace. So it wasn’t a surprise, no. I had much fresher tires, you know, 10, 15 laps or something like that. No, I mean, it was expected, I think, at that time. Maybe even more, 20 laps difference. So, yes, they seem to have struggled this weekend, but they will be fine next weekend.”
However, Norris refuses to discuss the drivers’ title.
“My answer is the same every weekend: I do my best and it’s a good thing to score as many points as possible, but there are still eight races left.”
Still, doesn’t Norris think it’s time to receive some help from Oscar Piastri on track?
“He helps me. But I’m not here to beg someone to let me pass. I’m not about that. I’m here to race. He had a better race than me, so I finished third, and that’s where I deserved to finish.”
Yet, with the Australian more than 100 points behind Verstappen in the championship and in a far less favorable position than his teammate, who is now just 62 points behind the leader, shouldn’t McLaren F1 make a decisive call now?
“I mean, I would love that, but it’s not up to me. It’s tough, because obviously as a driver, you don’t want it. You know, you don’t want things to be like that. It’s hard. Obviously, I wouldn’t say we are running out of time, but time is ticking slowly, and I still believe we can make it. The pace is obviously excellent. I continue to think that we probably have the closest to the best car this weekend, if not the best. I don’t know.”
“It’s not for me to decide. It’s for the team to decide, but I think we continue to work well together. We still help each other, and I think we have shown many times this year that we work very well together as a team and that we are the best team on the grid, and we are very happy about that. But yes, I don’t know. When you are fighting for a championship, you want everything, and I am doing all I can. The best way is just to win the race. And I didn’t do that today because of silly things. So, yes, it’s for the team, not for me.”
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Norris Concedes: Better Races by Piastri – Leclerc Norris Concedes: Better Races by Piastri – Leclerc. f1 2024 Norris Concedes Better Races by Piastri – Leclerc
