Lando Norris believes McLaren shouldn’t make him their top driver just yet.
- Following a controversial Hungarian Grand Prix, some suggest McLaren should back Norris.
- Norris is currently second in the standings, trailing Max Verstappen by 76 points.
- Norris prefers an equal playing field with teammate Oscar Piastri.
- Piastri agrees it’s too early for team orders favoring Norris.
Lando Norris sees no need for McLaren to favor him over his teammate to boost his chances against Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 championship. Despite being second in the standings, Norris believes both he and Oscar Piastri should race on equal terms. According to Norris, he must earn his victories through performance, not preferential treatment.
Norris’s perspective comes after the Hungarian Grand Prix controversy, where he delayed returning the race lead to Piastri. This incident led some to suggest that McLaren should fully support Norris to maximize his title chances. However, Norris disagrees, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a fair competition between teammates. He questions why a sudden bias is necessary when the team has never operated that way before.
Piastri supports Norris’s stance, acknowledging that while team orders might make sense in the future, it’s premature at this stage of the season. Piastri is still far behind in the standings, but he isn’t out of the race yet. He believes it’s crucial to focus on scoring the most points for the team rather than prioritizing one driver over the other.
Norris also clarifies that the events in Hungary were purely about race positions, not championship standings. He rejects the notion that the incident suggested any team bias towards him. If Piastri had led the entire race, Norris argues, there would have been no reason to ask him to let Norris pass.
Both drivers agree that the main goal is to accumulate as many points as possible for McLaren. Piastri adds that if the situation arises where he needs to support Norris for the greater good of the team, he is willing to do so. But for now, the focus remains on collective success in the constructors’ championship.
Norris and Piastri both advocate for fair competition and focusing on team success rather than individual favoritism at this point in the season.
