Norris’ former McLaren team mates say he was right to give up win · RaceFans

Two of Lando Norris’ former team mates backed his decision to give up victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix under orders from McLaren.

The two McLaren drivers swapped positions at the front of the field after the team gave Norris the benefit of making his final pit stop first in order to protect him from attack from behind. They then spent 20 laps urging him to let Oscar Piastri through into the lead, which he finally did with two laps to go.

Daniel Ricciardo, who benefited from McLaren’s team orders calls during his time alongside Norris from 2021 to 2022, said Norris could have compromised his relationships within the team had he stayed ahead.

“If in that case, obviously we’re talking about Lando and Oscar here, in the case of Lando staying in front, then it fractures the relationship not only with the team but then with your team mate.

“There’s not three races to go, there is still half a season to go. So I just think with that and looking ahead at the rest of the season, there will be times where Lando might need to lean on Oscar. And if you fracture that still with a half a season to go, I think that’s where it becomes difficult.

“Maybe me as a young kid in Formula 1 would have thought very different about this. But I think with age and a little bit of experience and wisdom, I think this is the way you have to look at it.”

Ricciardo said McLaren handled the situation well, especially Norris’ race engineer Will Joseph, who talked him into giving up the position.

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“The advice he was given was also, I think, good, because in the heat of the moment you don’t kind of see it all, so to speak. It’s like you see a win in front of you and that’s it.

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“But they’re talking about championship and ‘we win as a team’ and ‘you might need Oscar’s help’ and all that. And I think that’s kind of the perspective sometimes you need, I guess, in the heat of the moment.

“It’s a team game and you do need the team to help you, and there will be times where, again, it comes around and it’ll work in his favour. So as much as you don’t want to hear it, of course, at times and we’re all here to win, I think long-term play it’s definitely the smartest one.”

Carlos Sainz Jnr, who was Norris’ team mate at McLaren for two years before Ricciardo replaced him, said giving up a win is painful but the driver must prioritise their team.

“We were not fighting for easy one-twos at my time in McLaren but a team order is a team order and I think the team always comes first,” he said. “It’s been the way I’ve approached my Formula 1 career over these last 19 years. A team order, as much as it hurts, and it must have hurt to do let Oscar by, it’s a team order.

“Analysing the situation, if they give you an undercut for free on your team mate, most likely you need to let your team mate by because if not, you wouldn’t be in front of him if it wasn’t for that undercut.”

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He told media in today’s FIA press conference they “are being very tough on McLaren” for suggesting Norris should have been allowed to stay ahead because he is their best-placed driver in the championship.

“If you see where McLaren were a year and a half ago and where they are right now, it’s something to admire and something that only they have achieved with the way that they’ve developed the car, developed the team and put themselves in a position to even be considering fighting for a championship.

“Whether they will win it or not by seven points, those seven points might be somewhere else, not only in the event of Hungary. It might be because they started the season further behind maybe than what they wanted, and not in that exact race from Hungary.

“Personally I admire a lot [team principal] Andrea Stella, the way that he’s handling the team, the way he’s handling every situation, how calm everything looks at McLaren, even if you guys are pushing them to fight for bigger things. I think they are in the right trend and right now they’re the strongest team in Formula 1 so hats off to them.”

Another driver who has not previously partnered Norris, Valtteri Bottas, agreed with the others. Bottas, who obeyed a similar order to let Lewis Hamilton win the Russian Grand Prix in 2018, joked he would always follow such rules “because I’m an amazing team player,” but insisted he had “no regrets” over that decision.

“There’s certain rules, it depends on the team, depends on the situation,” he said. “But normally it comes back to you. So obviously I would give the place back.”