Lando Norris has revealed why he won’t resort to mind games during his titanic Formula 1 title battle with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
The Brit gained a psychological upper hand at the previous round in Hungary, claiming the final Grand Prix victory before F1’s summer break.
In fending off a late charge from Piastri, Norris was able to cut the Australian’s lead in the title race down to just nine points.
McLaren has been open in its stance on allowing both its drivers to race each other, provided it does not harm the team in any way.
This has led to some fraught and gripping battles between the two, with their on-track clash in Canada, for which Norris took responsibility, being the only blot on their copybooks.
Asked if Norris may consciously attempt to gain a psychological edge on Piastri, Norris refuted the idea, saying it is not in his style to do so.
“I don’t enjoy that,” he told PA. “In 200 years no one is going to care. We’ll all be dead.
“I am trying to have a good time. I still care about it, and that’s why I get upset sometimes and I get disappointed and I get angry at myself.
“And I think that shows just how much I care about winning and losing. But that doesn’t mean I need to take it out on Oscar. I just don’t get into those kind of things.”
Norris: If Piastri beats me, ‘he has done a better job’
Despite an early-season lull in which Piastri was able to open up a relatively sizeable lead, Norris has been able to narrow the gap as the campaign has progressed.
Hugely impressive wins at Monaco, Austria, Silverstone and Hungary, adding to his season-opening triumph in Australia, have enabled the Brit to see the pendulum of momentum swing away from Piastri.
But calm and consistent performances still see him top of the standings when F1 returns to action at Zandvoort in two weeks’ time.
Norris further explained that naturally, Piastri, being his team-mate as well as his chief title rival, is his greatest competition.
But he conceded that if he loses out to Piastri in the title race, then it is purely down to him having performed better across the season.
“Yes, he is the guy I want to beat more than anyone else,” he stressed. “But if I don’t beat him, then that’s just because he has done a better job.
“I will do it the way I believe is best for me, and just because one person did it a few years ago, it doesn’t mean you have to do that, too. I don’t really care about those things.”
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