Lando Norris is adamant he would have passed Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri without McLaren’s intervention with a team order during the Australian Grand Prix.
Norris started two places ahead of Piastri on the grid in third and both drivers moved up a spot in the nascent stages as Max Verstappen dropped out with a brake issue.
But when Mercedes triggered movement in the pit lane, McLaren opted to pit Piastri ahead of Norris on Lap 9 and the Australian emerged ahead once the Briton stopped.
However, as Norris closed at a rapid rate on four laps fresher rubber, McLaren ordered Piastri to allow his team-mate through to hunt down the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Norris, who was unable to catch Leclerc and finished third, is certain the outcome would have transpired to be the same regardless of whether the team had got involved.
Asked if it had felt like a bittersweet podium for McLaren, Norris replied: “It depends how you look at it. I was a lot quicker and I would have overtaken him anyway.
“It’s just you don’t want to delay the process of that happening. The longer I kind of spent behind him, the worse he was making my chance of catching Charles and trying to be ahead of Charles. So, yeah, I don’t think the result changed at all. He made my life easier and I think he helped us as a team, which I thank him for a lot.
“And we have a lot of respect for one another in these kind of situations. But I don’t think the result changed at all.”
Norris, who achieved his maiden podium at Silverstone last term, can understand Piastri would have been disappointed to miss out on the rostrum at his home race.
“But yeah, for any driver who’s racing in front of their home fans, you want to be on the podium,” he continued.
“So I don’t think I would ever take anything away from that or for what Oscar has provided and helped for in the team. But I don’t think the end result changed, no matter what.”
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella concurred with his driver’s view adding: “Lando would have gotten past Oscar naturally. That would have just taken a little more time.”
