Lando Norris has expressed it would be “stupid to assume” that McLaren has set a precedent with the late swap the team instigated in Formula 1‘s Italian Grand Prix.
Norris was poised to come home as the lead McLaren in second place at Monza when a sluggish pitstop demoted him behind team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri.
But despite the two drivers being embroiled in a direct championship battle, Piastri obliged with McLaren’s request to return the position to Norris with four laps to go.
Norris, who claimed the lead on the second lap but was powerless to repel Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, revealed that he never doubted that Piastri would cede second.
“No, because it’s what we decided as a team and it’s what we all agreed upon,” Norris, who is now 31 points behind Piastri, told media including Motorsport Week.
McLaren can secure the Constructors’ Championship at the next race in Baku, but Norris has signalled that will have no bearing should a similar situation materialise.
Asked whether he would be expected to heed the call that Piastri received even in the closing races, Norris replied: “Yes, because that’s what we’ve agreed as a team.”
McLaren will not bow to external pressure
Meanwhile, the Briton has declared that the external scepticism surrounding McLaren’s decision to swap the drivers would have no impact on how the team operates.
“Every situation is different. So I think it’s pretty stupid just to assume that kind of thing and just say that’s the precedent you set,” he contended.
“We’re not idiots. And we have plans for different things.
“If there was four cars in between me and Oscar, of course, he’s not going to let me back past. And I don’t think that’s correct that he let me back past.
“But in a situation where we weren’t racing, in a situation where we can just be fair, then you’d expect to be fair as a team.
“They don’t want to be the reason. They don’t want to be the reason to upset one driver or another through no fault of their own.
“Today was not my fault. So if I came flat out into my box and I hit all my mechanics out the way, I also don’t expect to get the position back. But today was out of my control.
“And in the end, I don’t want this. Like, I don’t want to win this way through getting given positions or anything like that.
“And the same thing with Oscar. You know, we don’t want to lose or win like that.
“But we do what we think is correct as a team, no matter what you say or what your opinions are. And we stick to doing it our way.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri agreed to ‘fair’ McLaren driver swap request during F1 Italian GP
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