Lando Norris has admitted he does not feel too proud about overshadowing team-mate Oscar Piastri’s first F1 race win, and McLaren’s one-two, with his radio wrangling in the closing stages of last week’s Hungarian GP.
The Briton also conceded he now realises he was “stupid” to not immediately let Piastri back through to the lead after the pit stops, rather than waiting for 20 laps when there were only three laps of the grand prix remaining and he had insufficient time to mount a fresh bid for the lead.
Five days on from the late-race drama at the Hungaroring, when speaking to the media on the opening day of the Belgian GP weekend, Norris said: “Could it have been handled slightly differently from both the team side and a personal side? Yes, absolutely, and I think we wouldn’t have been having this conversation now in some ways.
“Whether people on the outside think and [are] going to come up with their own stories of what happened and what I would and wouldn’t have done, I don’t mind about that.
“The things that I could have done, the fact that I kind of clouded over Oscar’s first race win in Formula 1 is something I’ve not felt too proud about.
“The fact we had a one-two and that was barely a headline after the race. The fact we had a one-two and nothing was really spoken about it from that side, that’s the bits I felt worse about.
“Apart from that we discussed it, we have spoken abut it. Both sides could have done things a little bit better, a little bit differently. It’s almost not good that we had it, but a good moment we’ve had it [at the same time], we’ve learned from it and hopefully it’s done better next time.”
Listen in on the radio messages from McLaren throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix
From his side, Norris admitted that what he should have done – allow Piastri back through straightaway having undercut the Australian at the second stops – had not crossed his mind at the time.
“Just let him past straight away,” said Norris.
“It’s such a stupid thing that I didn’t because we were still free to race, so I could have just let him past and still try to overtake and to race him. Sounds so simple but it’s not something that went through my head at the time.
On the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Karun Chandhok, Tom McCluskey, and Matt Baker discuss Norris’ dilemma of giving the No 1 spot to Piastri
“Such a simple thing like that I could have done. I was just in a good rhythm and things were going well at the time. I questioned the team a few times but I knew from as soon as they boxed me before him I was going to have to let him go, I was just a bit silly and didn’t think of letting him go earlier.”
Norris: Championship situation shouldn’t have come into it yet
Amid scrutiny on how the dramatic closing stages of last Sunday’s race played out, particular focus was placed on whether McLaren had made the right decision to switch the drivers back around at all given Norris’ status is the nearest challenger to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.
Norris heads into this weekend’s Belgian GP, the final race before the summer break, 76 points behind the Red Bull driver in the standings, whereas Piastri is 116 points back.
Had Norris won last Sunday’s race then his deficit would have been further reduced to 69 points.
Following Lando Norris letting his team-mate Oscar Piastri through in the Hungarian Grand Prix, his fellow F1 drivers were asked if they would do the same if they were in a similar position
F1’s top scorers over the past seven races in a run that is taking them closer to Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship too, McLaren are now widely considered to have the fastest car in F1 – a momentum shift which gives increasing credence to Norris mounting an outside shot at the title over the season’s final 11 races.
The 24-year-old though is adamant that Drivers’ Championship should not have come into the team’s thinking in Hungary at this point of the campaign at the expense of Piastri.
“That had nothing to do with last week. I shouldn’t have led the race, that’s the end of it,” Norris insisted.
“Oscar got me off the line, he controlled it well, that was it. I shouldn’t have led the race and so people should then never have had the perception of ‘ah, the team are not biasing towards Lando’. If Oscar was leading the whole race there is absolutely zero reason why they should ask him to let me past.
Lewis Hamilton says the exchange between him and Lando Norris didn’t bother him, and says that he didn’t take it personally as he reflects back on his own experiences of being young in the sport
“If you are thinking of it from a championship point of view, I don’t know when the point is of like if I’m 10 points behind, 15 points behind, whatever, at what point then do you go ‘can you help out a bit more’ or can you do this or do that?
“I don’t know when that point is and that’s not my decision. But when Oscar has led the whole race, controlled it well, and just from a strategy side they have boxed me first just to be safe, that’s just given the perception of something completely different.
“It shouldn’t do, internally we know it doesn’t. Oscar deserved to win and he did, as simple as that.”
Asked if he thought he should be favoured yet given his superior championship position, Norris replied: “No. I still need to earn it. I still need to go out there and driver quicker than everyone. I don’t think that changes anything
“Why is now the point all of a sudden where we’d have a bias over one? We’d never had the bias in the team, it might have looked like it from the outside but that happens a lot now [that people think that].
“But why now all of a sudden do I have a chance? I’ve had a chance the whole season and we’re only halfway through. We’ve got a hell of a long way to go. Maybe a little bit further down the line, but that time is to be decided.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Belgian GP schedule
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Belgian Grand Prix
Friday July 26
8.50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Belgian GP Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
2pm: F3 Qualifying
2.55pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Belgian GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5:15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday July 27
8:45am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Belgian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Belgian GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 28
7:25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Belgian GP build-up*
2pm: The BELGIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Belgian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The Formula 1 action continues this weekend with the final race before F1’s summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch every session from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime