'I Didn't Give Up Race Win': Norris Hits Back At Incorrect Narrative

Monday, 22 July 2024 at 20:30

Lando Norris clarified after the race that he didn't give up the victory during the 13th round of the 2024 season at Hungaroring.

McLaren driver Lando Norris started the race in P1 but lost it in the first corner to his teammate Oscar Piastri, who led the race until the second round of pit stops.

Although it is common practice to prioritize the driver in front when it comes to pit stops so his teammate doesn't undercut him, McLaren called Norris in first.

This meant that the 24-year-old indeed undercut his Australian teammate. As the British team didn't want to be unfair towards one of their drivers, they asked Norris to swap back positions with Piastri after the second pit stop.

It took much more convincing, bagging, and psychological games, which Nico Rosberg advised McLaren's team principal against, for the Briton to let his McLaren teammate back into the lead, but in the end, he did it.

During the post-race press conference (for the top 3 finishers), Norris was asked "how difficult" it was to "give up the race win," to which he responded:

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"I mean, I didn't give up the race win. I lost the race win off the line. So I know everyone is going to want to say that as a story that I gave up the race when I didn't."

Although it looked during the race like Norris thought he deserved the win and didn't want to give it back to Piastri, the 24-year-old changed his tone when talking to the media afterward:

"I boxed first, and naturally, you're always going to undercut. So, the team gave me this position, and I gave it back. Nothing more than that."

In the race, the British driver did what most F1 drivers would have done in the same situation: He said that if Piastri wanted his place back, he should catch him (then he went to open up the gap from three to six seconds).

In doing that, he demonstrated that he was quicker at that point in the race than his teammate. However, that took away from the joy the team and the 22-year-old had from his maiden Grand Prix victory in the end.