Norris pinpoints start as pivotal to loss, praises Piastri’s deserved victory in thrilling F1 race.
Forced to relinquish the lead to his teammate Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix following a strategic error by McLaren F1, Lando Norris faced an undoubtedly frustrating situation but quickly defused tensions by highlighting his team’s excellent weekend, marking their first one-two finish in three years.
“I’m trying to find a cool word. I don’t know. Just awesome. It was a very good weekend, overall, from the whole team. No mistakes. The car’s pace is excellent. Probably this weekend, I think we can confidently say we were the fastest, and I think it’s the first time this year I can say that confidently, so it’s amazing. Our first one-two since Monza 2021 with Daniel. And I’m very happy for us as a team and for everyone involved to reward them with something like this.”
The British driver continued by explaining that in the end, it hadn’t been difficult to hand the victory to Piastri.
“I mean, I didn’t give up the win. I know everyone will want to say I gave up the race but that’s not the case. I took the lead and naturally, you’re always going to take a lower position than mine. So, the team gave me this position and I gave it back. Nothing more than that.”
“I didn’t lose the victory at that moment but at the start. You know, I had a terrible start, a bad start. Oscar was inside and that was it. So, you know, I found myself in the lead rather than wanting to be. I feel like we made things way too difficult and too delicate for ourselves. We should have just pitted Oscar first and things would have been simple, but they gave me the advantage and I returned it. So, I shouldn’t have won that Sunday. I didn’t deserve to win because of my start and Oscar’s good start, and that’s all. So, I don’t feel… I know I was in that position for a while and I did 16, 17 laps or something, it’s hard when you’re in that position to give it back because you’re there. And you’re there and of course, it crossed my mind, seven points that I’m going to lose. But I think the fact is that I shouldn’t have had them in the first place. I shouldn’t have had them in my hands. So, the team was right. And I stick to what they said.”
The trigger of a safety car threat
Yet, McLaren F1 had to communicate repeatedly over the radio to ensure their driver would comply with the team order. While he considered waiting until the final corner of the last lap, a particular radio message persuaded him not to wait until the very last moment.
“I mean, there are always things running through your mind because, you know… Sometimes you have to be selfish in this sport. You have to think of yourself. That’s the number one priority, thinking of yourself. I’m also a team player, so I was a bit all over the place at that time. I know what we’ve done in the past, Oscar and me. He’s helped me numerous times… I think the situation is different. I was put in a position, and we reversed that position change.”
“I know what I’m going to do and what I’m not going to do. Of course, I’m going to question the order and challenge it, and that’s what I did. I was going to wait for the last lap, the last corner. But they told me that if there had been a safety car suddenly and I hadn’t let Oscar pass, I would have looked like an idiot. I thought: ‘Yes, that’s true, that’s fair.’ And I let him pass. And right away, I let him go. I always intended to give back the position unless they changed their mind about what they were saying. And they didn’t change their mind. So all is well.”
“And I know a lot of people will say that the gap between me and Max is quite big in the championship, 60, 70, 80 points or something like that. You know, if Red Bull and Max make mistakes like they did this weekend and keep doing it, and if as a team we continue to improve and have weekends like the one we just had, we can turn things around. And we remain optimistic. It’s always a big goal to say that we can make up 70 points in half a season. And when you think about the seven or six points that I’m letting slip, then… It does cross your mind, that’s for sure. So it wasn’t easy, but I also understood the situation I was in and I was confident enough that by the last lap, I would have made it.”
Norris thus played along with his team this Sunday, but could we see him become more selfish in the future?
“It depends. I mean, I did that for… I don’t know. I think I was put in this situation and it’s not my fault if I was leading the race in a way. Simply, the team should have pitted Oscar first and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. So it’s not that. I think as a team, we might have been able to do things a bit differently and I’m sure we’ll talk about it. But at the same time… This guy deserved to win. He did an amazing job. He overtook me at the start and yes, it’s a very special feeling to win your first race and I say first race because I think you’ll agree that it’s his first race win and not a Sprint race. So yes, I’ll let him enjoy it. And you know, for us as a team, winning is an incredible weekend.”
Norris wants to give himself “the best chances” of overtaking Red Bull and Verstappen
Lando Norris is now 76 points behind Max Verstappen in the World Drivers’ Championship, while McLaren F1 is only 51 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings. Does the Briton think it’s still possible to turn things around in 2024, against all odds just a few months ago?
“I said at the end of last year that we were going to win races this year. I said at the beginning of the year that it wouldn’t be easy for Red Bull, and all that has come to pass. So, I think we’ve done an excellent job as a team. First, we must congratulate the team for giving us a car that allowed us to do this. We won this weekend, but it’s only our second victory of the year. Red Bull has won many more races. Mercedes has had as many victories as us. So just because we won a race this time and had a dominant weekend doesn’t mean we are the fastest car. I think on two weekends this year, we had the best car on the grid. That’s all. People can have their own opinion and say what they want. But do we have the ability to win more? Yes. Did we necessarily have the fastest car on those days? I don’t think so.”
“But yes, when I think about it, when I think about what we are doing now, what we are capable of doing in the future, you know, in the short term and also in the long term after the summer break, and that we have more days like today, then of course, it would be foolish to say no. But make no mistake, I know I need to catch up 76 points. I know many people will say there’s no chance, but I mean that we will continue to fight and I will give myself the best chances of doing it. You know, especially when you see Max and Red Bull this weekend, not performing well, making mistakes, crashing. You know, you want to make the most of these opportunities and many more can happen in the future. So yes, I think it’s still relevant. I know it’s very ambitious and optimistic, as I have said before, but I’m not going to refuse the challenge and, as a team, we won’t either. And psychologically, yes, I’m happy. I’m ready. I still think, you know, if you go back to the Red Bull Ring, I did nothing wrong in that case. It wasn’t my fault. So I’m ready to go to battle. I’m excited. I’m ready to fight. And I’m looking forward to the battles we’re going to have.”
To conclude, Norris stated that McLaren F1 had clearly indicated that he was allowed to race with Piastri during the race, even though obviously the situation offered another scenario.
“Yes, we were allowed to race against each other. Maybe some positions would have changed, but we were always allowed to race. 99% of the time we spent together, we were allowed to race. There were a few times where it was better to hold position and where it wasn’t worth anything different, especially when we’re fighting for, you know, last year we were fighting for the ninth and tenth places and things like that, which doesn’t really matter. We have always had these opportunities, and I think it’s mainly because we have always been honest with each other, that we have always respected each other well. I think as a teammate, I want… As far as I am concerned, I feel I have always been good, honest, happy, and respectful of the people I work with and the way we can work as a team. I believe that’s a good trait of mine and it has helped me many times in the past. So yes, we are allowed to race and in the future, that will continue to be the case, I’m sure.”
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Oscar Earns First Win Norris Reflects on Start Oscar Earns First Win Norris Reflects on Start
